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MOUNT  EVEREST 

THE  RECONNAISSANCE,  1921 


By 
Lieut.-Gol.  G.  K.  HOWARD-BURY,  D.S.O. 

AND    OTHER    MEMBERS    OF    THE 
MOUNT      EVEREST      EXPEDITION 


WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS  AND  MAPS 


LONGMANS,  GREEN  AND  GO. 
55  FIFTH  AVENUE,  NEW  YORK 

LONDON:    EDWARD   ARNOLD   &   CO. 
1922 

•-    1  -<    '1    1 


PREFACE 

The  Mount  Everest  Committee  of  the  Royal  Geographical 
Society  and  the  Alpine  Club  desire  to  express  their  thanks 
to  Colonel  Howard-Bury,  Mr.  Wollaston,  Mr.  Mallory,  Major 
Morshead,  Major  Wheeler  and  Dr.  Heron  for  the  trouble 
they  have  taken  to  write  so  soon  after  their  return  an  account 
of  their  several  parts  in  the  joint  work  of  the  Expedition. 
They  have  thereby  enabled  the  present  Expedition  to  start 
with  full  knowledge  of  the  results  of  the  reconnaissance, 
and  the  public  to  follow  the  progress  of  the  attempt  to  reach 
the  summit  with  full  information  a,t  hand. 

The  Committee  also  wish  to  take  this  opportunity  of 
thanking  the  Imperial  Dry  Plate  Company  for  having  gener- 
ously presented  photographic  plates  to  the  Expedition  and 
so  contributed  to  the  production  of  the  excellent  photographs 
that  have  been  brought  back. 

They  also  desire  to  thank  the  Peninsular  and  Oriental 
Steam  Navigation  Company  for  their  liberality  in  allowing 
the  members  to  travel  at  reduced  fares  ;  and  the  Government 
of  India  for  allowing  the  stores  and  equipment  of  the 
Expedition  to  enter  India  free  of  duty. 


J.  E.  C.  Eaton 
A.  R.  HiNKS 


Ho7i.  Secretaries. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


IwTKODUCTiON.   By  SiR  Frakcis  Younghusband,  K.C.S.I.,  K.C.I.E., 
President  of  the  Royal  Geogi-aphical  Society. 


THE   NARRATIVE   OF  THE  EXPEDITION 
By  LiEUT.-CoL.  C.  K.  Howard-Bury,  D.S.O. 

CHAP. 

I    From  Darjeelixg  through  Sikkim  .... 
II    The  Chumbi  Valley  and  the  Tibetan  Plateau 

III  From   Khamba   Dzong   through   Unknown   Country 

TiNGRT 

IV  TiNGRI   AND    the    COUNTRY   TO    THE   SoUTH 

V  The  Search  for  Kharta 

VI  The  Move  to  Kharta 

VII  The  Kama  Valley    .... 

VIII  The  Upper  Kharta  Valley  and  the  20,000-foot  Camp 

IX  The  Return  to  Kharta  by  the  Kama  Valley  . 

X  The  Return  Journey  to  Phaei  .... 

XI  Back  to  Civilisation 


to 


23 
37 

55 

71 

86 

98 

112 

130 

146 

156 

170 


THE  RECONNAISSANCE  OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 
By  George  H.  Leigh-Mallory 
XII    The  Northern  Approach 

XIII  The  Northern  Approach  (cmitinued) 

XIV  The  Eastern  Approach  . 
XV    The  Assault 

XVI    Weather  and  Condition  of  Snow  . 

XVII    The  Route  to  the  Summit 

vii 


183 
203 
221 
250 
262 
273 


viii  CONTENTS 

NATURAL  HISTORY 
By  A.  F.  R.  WoLLASTON 

CHAP.  PAGE 

XVIII    An  Excdhsion  to  Nyenyam  and  Lapche  Kang        .         .     281 
XIX    Natural  History  Notes 290 


XX    An  Appreciation  of  the  Reconnaissance.    By  Professor 

Norman  Collie,  F.R.S.,  President  of  the  Alpine  Club      .     304 

APPENDICES 

I    The  Survey.    By  Major  H.  T.  Morshead,  D.S.O.     .         .     319 

II    The  Photographic  Survey.    By  Major  E.  0.  Wheeler,  M.C.    329 

III  A  Note  on  the  Geological  Results  of  the  Expedition. 
By  A.  M.  Heron,  D.Sc,  F.G.S.,  Geological  Survey  of 
India 338 

IV    The   Scientific   Equipment.    By   A.    R.    Hinks,    F.R.S., 

Secretary  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  .  .         .     341 

V    Mammals,  Birds  and  Plants  collected  by  the  Expedition. 

By  A.  F.  R.  Wollaston 344 

Index 351 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


The  Summit  .......        Frontispiece 

Chomolhari  from  the  South    ...... 

Loading  up  at  Dochen  ....... 

Kampa  Dzong        ........ 

Tinki  Dzong  ........ 

Gyangka  Range  from  near  Chushar         .... 

Shekar  Dzong         ........ 

The  Abbot  of  Shekar  Chote 

IVIihtary  Governor,  his  Wife  and  Mother 

The  Dzongpen  of  Kharta  and  his  Wife  .... 

Lamas  of  Kharta  Monastery  ...... 

Makalu  from  21,500-foot  peak  on  ridge  south  of  Kama-chu. 

Makalu  and  Chomolonzo         ...... 

Chffs  of  Chomolonzo  from  camp  at  Pethang  Ringmo 

The  Kama  Valley  ....... 

Sea  of  cloud  from  peak  north  of  Kama  Valley.     Kangchenjunga  in 
distance  ......... 

Chomolonzo  from  the  alp  below  the  Langma  La,  Kama  Valley 

Members  of  the  Expedition    ...... 

Cho-Uyo 

Summit  of  Mount  Everest  and  North  Peak  from  the  Island, 
Rongbuk  Glacier     ....... 

Mount  Everest  from  the  Rongbuk  Glacier,  nine  miles  north-west 

Summit  of  ]\Iount  Everest  and  South  Peak  from  the  Island, 
Rongbuk  Glacier      ....... 

Pethang-tse   ......... 


West 


West 


PAGE 

46 

50 

54 

58 

62 

66 

68 

100 

106 

110 

112 

114 

116 

118 

138 
150 
178 

190 

210 
214 

218 
222 


IX 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


FAClNO 
PAGE 


Summit  of  Makalu 226 

South-east  Ridge  of  Mount  Everest  from  above  the  20,000-foot  camp, 

Kliarta  Valley 230 

North-east  of  Mount  Everest  and  Chang  La  from  Lhakpa  La.       .  246 

Mount  Everest  from  the  20,000-foot  camp — wind  blowing  snow  off  the 

mountain         ..........  278 

Temple  at  Lapche  Kang         ........  286 

Gauri-Sankar .  288 

Lower  Kama-chu  ..........  290 

Junipers  in  the  Kama  Valley        .......  294 

Forest  in  the  Kama  Valley    ........  300 

Mount  Everest  at  sunset  from  the  20,000-foot  camp,  Kharta  Valley      .  316 


LIST  OF  MAPS 

I    Map  to  illustrate  the  route  of  the  Mount  Everest  Expedition. 

Scale  1/750,000 At  end 

II    Map  of  Mount  Everest.    Scale  1/100,000         ... 

Ill    Geological  Map  of  the  Mount  Everest  Region  .         .  „ 


XI 


INTRODUCTION 

By  Sir  FRANCIS  YOUNGHUSBAND,  K.C.S.I.,  K.C.I.E. 

The  idea  of  climbing  Mount  Everest  has  been  vaguely 
in  men's  mind  for  thirty  or  forty  years  past.  Certainly 
that  veteran  mountain-climber  and  mountain-lover,  Douglas 
Freshfield,  had  it  persistently  rising  within  him  as  he  broke 
away  from  the  Swiss  Alps  and  subdued  the  giants  of  the 
Caucasus  and  then  sought  still  higher  peaks  to  conquer. 
Lord  Curzon  also  had  had  it  in  his  mind,  and  when  Viceroy 
of  India  had  written  suggesting  that  the  Royal  Geographical 
Society  and  the  Alx-)ine  Club  should  make  a  joint  explora- 
tion of  the  mountain.  Bruce,  Longstaff  and  Mumm  would 
have  made  this  exploration  in  1905  if  the  permission  of  the 
Nepalese  and  Tibetan  Governments  had  been  available. 
So  also  would  Rawling  a  few  years  later.  All  these,  and 
doubtless  others,  had  contemplated  at  least  a  preliminary 
reconnaissance  of  Mount  Everest. 

But,  so  far  as  I  know,  the  first  man  to  propose  a  definite 
expedition  to  Mount  Everest  was  the  then  Captain  Bruce, 
who,  when  he  and  I  were  together  in  Chitral  in  1893, 
proposed  to  me  that  we  should  make  a  glorious  termination 
to  a  journey  from  Chinese  Turkestan  across  Tibet  by 
ascending  Mount  Everest.  And  it  is  Bruce  who  has  held 
to  the  idea  ever  since  and  sought  any  opportunity  that 
offered  of  getting  at  the  mountain. 

It  stands  to  reason  that  men  with  any  zest  for  moun- 

M.E,  I  8 


2  MOUNT  EVEREST 

taineering  could  not  possibly  allow  Mount  Everest  to  remain 
untouched.  The  time,  the  opportunity,  the  money,  the 
ability  to  make  the  necessary  preliminary  preparation 
might  be  lacking,  but  the  wish  and  the  will  to  stand  on 
the  summit  of  the  world's  highest  mountain  must  have  been 
in  the  heart  of  many  a  mountaineer  since  the  Alps  have 
been  so  firmly  trampled  under  foot.  The  higher  climbers 
climb,  the  higher  they  want  to  climb.  It  is  certain  that 
they  will  never  rest  content  till  the  proudest  peaks  of  the 
Himalaya  are  as  subdued  and  tamed  as  the  once  dreaded 
summits  of  the  Alps  now  are. 

Men  simply  cannot  resist  exercising  and  stretching  to 
their  fullest  tether  the  faculties  and  aptitudes  with  which 
they  each  happen  to  be  specially  endowed.  One  born  with 
an  aptitude  for  painting  is  dull  and  morose  and  fidgety  until 
he  can  get  colours  and  a  brush  into  his  hand  and  commence 
painting.  Another  is  itching  to  make  things — to  use  his 
hands  and  fashion  wood  or  stone  or  metal  into  forms  which 
he  is  continually  creating  in  his  mind.  Another  is  restless 
until  he  can  sing.  Another  is  ever  pining  to  be  on  a  public 
platform  swaying  the  audience  with  his  oratory  and  playing 
on  their  feelings  as  on  a  musical  instrument.  Each  has 
his  own  inner  aptitude  which  he  aches  to  give  vent  to  and 
bring  into  play.  And  more  than  this,  he  secretly  owns 
within  himself  an  exceedingly  high  standard — the  highest 
standard — of  what  he  wants  to  attain  to  along  his  own 
particular  line,  and  he  is  never  really  content  in  his  mind 
and  at  peace  with  himself  when  he  is  not  stretching  himself 
out  to  the  full  towards  this  high  pinnacle  which  he  has  set 
before  him. 

Now  fortunately  all  men  are  not  born  with  the  same 
aptitudes.  We  do  not  all  want  to  sing  or  all  want  to  orate 
or  all  want  to  paint.  Some  few  want  to  climb  mountains. 
These  men  love  to  pit  themselves  against  what  most 
others  would  consider  an  insuperable  obstacle.  They  enjoy 
measuring  themselves  against  it  and  being  forced  to  exercise 
all  their  energies  and  faculties  to  overcome  it.     The  Duke 


THE   INTRODUCTION  3 

of  the  Abruzzi  is  as  good  an  example  of  this  type  as  I 
know.  He  was  never  happy  until  he  had  discovered  some 
inaccessible  and  impracticable  mountain  and  then  thrown 
himself  against  it  and  come  to  grips  with  it  in  dead  earnest 
and  either  conquered  it  or  been  thrown  back  from  it  utterly 
and  completely  exhausted,  but  with  the  satisfaction  that 
anyhow  he  had  exercised  every  nerve  and  muscle  and  faculty 
to  the  full.  His  native  mountains  he  had  early  conquered 
over  and  over  again,  so  he  had  to  look  further  afield  to  Mount 
Elias  in  Alaska  and  Ruwenzori  in  East  Africa  ;  and  having 
vanquished  these  he  would  doubtless  have  turned  his  eyes 
to  Mount  Everest  if  for  political  reasons  the  way  to  that 
mountain  had  not  been  barred,  and  he  was  compelled 
therefore  to  look  to  the  next  highest  mountain,  namely,  the 
peak  K2  in  the  Karakoram  Himalaya  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  which  he  attained  to  a  greater  height,  24,600  feet,  than 
has  yet  been  attained  by  any  man  on  foot. 

The  Duke  no  doubt  is  human  and  would  like  his  name 
to  go  down  to  posterity  as  having  conquered  some 
conspicuously  lofty  and  difficult  peak.  But  undoubtedly 
the  ruling  passion  with  him  would  be  this  love  of  pittmg 
himself  against  a  great  mountain  and  feeling  that  he  was 
being  forced  to  exert  himself  to  the  full.  To  such  men  a 
tussle  with  a  mountain  is  a  real  tonic — something  bracing 
and  refreshing.  And  even  if  they  are  laid  out  flat  by  the 
mountain  instead  of  standing  triumphant  on  its  summit 
they  have  enjoyed  the  struggle  and  would  go  back  for 
another  if  they  ever  had  the  chance. 

Others — like  Bruce — climb  from  sheer  exuberance  of 
spmts.  Blessed  with  boundless  energy  they  revel  in  its 
exercise.  It  is  only  on  the  mountain  side,  breathing  its 
pure  air,  buffeting  against  its  storms,  testing  their  nerve, 
running  hair-breadth  risks,  exercising  their  intelligence  and 
judgment,  feeling  their  manhood  and  looking  on  Nature  face 
to  face  and  with  open  heart  and  mind  that  they  are  truly 
happy.  For  these  men  days  on  the  mountain  are  deijs 
when  they  reaUy  live.     And  as  the  cobwebs  in  their  braina 


4  MOUNT   EVEREST 

get  blown  away,  as  the  blood  begins  to  course  refreshingly 
through  their  veins,  as  all  their  faculties  become  tuned  up 
and  their  whole  being  becomes  more  sensitive,  they  detect 
appeals  from  Nature  they  had  never  heard  before  and  see 
beauties  which  are  revealed  only  to  those  who  win  them. 
They  may  not  at  the  moment  be  aware  of  the  deepest 
impressions  they  are  receiving.  But  to  those  who  have 
struggled  with  them  the  mountains  reveal  beauties  they 
will  not  disclose  to  those  who  make  no  effort.  That  is  the 
reward  the  mountains  give  to  effort.  And  it  is  because  they 
have  much  to  give  and  give  it  so  lavishly  to  those  who  will 
wrestle  with  them  that  men  love  the  mountains  and  go  back 
to  them  again  and  again. 

And  naturally  the  mountains  reserve  their  choicest  gifts 
for  those  who  stand  upon  their  summits.  The  climber's 
vision  is  then  no  longer  confined  and  enclosed.  He  can  see 
now  all  round.  His  width  of  outlook  is  enlarged  to  its  full 
extremity.  He  sees  in  every  direction.  He  has  a  sense  of 
being  raised  above  the  world  and  being  proudly  conscious 
that  he  has  raised  himself  there  by  his  own  exertions,  he  has 
a  peculiar  satisfaction  and  for  the  time  forgets  all  frets  and 
worries  in  the  serener  atmosphere  in  which  he  now  for  a 
moment  dwells. 

And  it  is  only  for  a  moment  that  he  can  dwell  there.  For 
men  cannot  always  live  on  the  heights.  They  must  come 
down  to  the  plains  again  and  engage  in  the  practical  life  of 
the  world.  But  the  vision  from  the  heights  never  leaves 
them.  They  want  to  return  there.  They  want  to  reach  a 
higher  height.  Their  standard  of  achievement  rises.  And 
so  it  has  come  about  that  mountaineers  when  they  had 
climbed  the  highest  heights  in  Europe  went  off  to  the 
Caucasus,  to  the  Andes,  and  eventually  to  the  Himalaya 
to  climb  something  higher  still.  Freshfield  conquered  the 
Caucasus,  Whymper  and  Conway  the  Andes,  and  the 
assault  upon  the  Himalaya  is  now  in  full  swing. 

It  is  therefore  only  in  the  natural  course  of  things  that 
TUen    should    want    to    climb    the    highest    summit    of    the 


THE   INTRODUCTION  5 

Himalaya.  And  though  those  who  set  out  to  cHmb  Mount 
Everest  will  probably  think  little  of  the  eventual  results, 
being  perfectly  satisfied  in  their  own  minds,  without  any 
elaborate  reasoning,  that  what  they  are  attempting  is 
something  supremely  worth  while,  yet  it  is  easy  for  lookers 
on  to  see  that  much  unexpected  good  will  result  from  their 
activities.  The  climbers  will  be  actuated  by  sheer  love  of 
mountaineering,  and  that  is  enough  for  them.  I  But  climb- 
ing Mount  Everest  is  no  futile  and  useless  performance  of 
no  satisfaction  to  anyone  but  the  climbers.  Results  will 
follow  from  it  of  the  highest  value  to  mankind  at  large. 

For  the  climbers  are  unwittingly  carrying  out  an 
experiment  of  momentous  consequence  to  mankind.  They 
are  testing  the  capacity  of  the  human  race  to  stand  the 
highest  altitudes  on  this  earth  which  is  its  home.  No 
scientific  man,  no  physiologist  or  physician,  can  now  say 
for  certain  whether  or  not  a  human  body  can  reach  a  height 
of  29,000  feet  above  the  sea.  We  know  that  in  an  aeroplane 
he  can  be  carried  up  to  a  much  greater  height.  But  we  do 
not  know  whether  he  can  climb  on  his  own  feet  such  an 
altitude.  That  knowledge  of  men's  capacity  can  only  be 
acquired  by  practical  experiment  in  the  field. 

And  in  the  process  of  acquiring  the  knowledge  a  valuable 
result  will  ensue.  By  testing  their  capacities  men  actually 
increase  them.  By  exercising  their  capacities  to  the  full 
mountaineers  seem  to  enlarge  them.  A  century  ago  the 
ascent  of  Mount  Blanc  seemed  the  limit  of  human  capacity. 
Nowadays  hundreds  ascend  the  mountain  every  year.  And 
going  further  afield  men  ascended  the  highest  peaks  in  the 
Caucasus  and  then  in  the  Andes  and  have  been  reaching 
higher  and  higher  altitudes  in  the  Himalaya.  Conway 
reached  23,000  feet,  Kellas  23,186  feet,  Longstaff  23,360 
feet.  Dr.  Workman  23,000  feet,  Kellas  and  Meade  23,600 
feet  and  the  Duke  of  the  Abruzzi  24,600  feet.  It  looks  there- 
fore as  if  man  by  attempting  more  was  actually  making 
himself  capable  of  achieving  more.  By  straining  after  the 
highest  he  is  increasing  his  capacity  to  attain  it. 


6  MOUNT  EVEREST 

In  this  measuring  of  themselves  against  the  mountains 
men  are  indeed  very  hke  puppies  crawUng  about  and  testing 
their  capacities  on  their  surroundings— crawhng  up  on  to 
some  obstacle,  tumbling  back  discomfited  but  returning 
gallantly  to  the  attack  and  at  last  triumphantly  surmounting 
it.  Thus  do  they  find  out  what  they  can  do  and  how  they 
stand  in  relation  to  their  surroundings.  Also  by  exercising 
and  stretching  their  muscles  and  faculties  to  the  full  they 
actually  increase  their  capacity. 

Men  are  still  only  in  the  puppy  stage  of  existence.  We 
are  prone  to  think  ourselves  very  "  grown  up  "  but  really 
we  are  only  in  our  childhood.  In  the  latest  discussions  as 
to  the  period  of  time  which  must  have  elapsed  since  hfe 
first  appeared  upon  this  earth  a  period  of  the  order  of  a 
thousand  milhon  years  was  named.  But  of  that  immense 
period  man  has  been  in  existence  for  only  a  quarter  or  half 
a  million  years.  So  the  probability  is  that  he  has  still  long 
years  before  him  and  must  be  now  only  in  his  childhood — 
in  his  puppyhood.  We  certainly  find  that  as  he  inqui- 
sitively looks  about  his  surroundings  and  measures  himself 
against  them  he  is  steadily  increasing  his  mastery  over  them. 
In  the  last  five  hundred  years  record  after  record  has 
been  beaten.  Men  have  ventured  more  and  shown  more 
adaptability  and  a  sterner  hardihood  and  endurance  than 
ever  before.  They  have  ventured  across  the  oceans, 
circumnavigated  the  globe,  reached  the  poles,  risen  into  the 
air,  and  it  can  be  only  a  question  of  time — a  few  months 
or  a  few  years — before  they  reach  the  highest  summit  of 
the  earth. 

"  What  then  ?  "  some  will  ask.  "  Suppose  men  do 
reach  the  top  of  Mount  Everest,  what  then  ?  "  "  Suppose 
we  do  establish  the  fact  that  man  has  the  capacity  to  surmount 
the  highest  summit  of  his  surroundings,  of  what  good  is  that 
knowledge  ?  "  This  is  the  kind  of  question  promoters  of 
the  enterprise  continually  have  to  answer.  One  reply  is 
obvious.  The  sight  of  climbers  struggling  upwards  to  the 
supreme  pinnacle  will  have  taught  men  to  lift  their  eyes 


THE   INTRODUCTION  7 

unto  the  hills — to  raise  them  off  the  ground  and  direct  them, 
if  only  for  a  moment,  to  something  pure  and  lofty  and 
satisfying  to  that  inner  craving  for  the  worthiest  which  all 
men  have  hidden  in  their  souls.  And  when  they  see  men 
thrown  back  at  first  but  venturing  again  and  again  to  the 
assault  till  with  faltering  footsteps  and  gasping  breaths 
they  at  last  reach  the  summit  they  will  thrill  with  pride. 
They  will  no  longer  be  obsessed  with  the  thought  of  what 
mites  they  are  in  comparison  with  the  mountains — how 
insignificant  they  are  beside  their  material  surroundings. 
They  will  have  a  proper  pride  in  themselves  and  a  well- 
grounded  faith  in  the  capacity  of  spirit  to  dominate  material. 

And  direct  practical  results  flow  from  this  increasing 
confidence  which  man  is  acquiring  in  face  of  the  mountains. 
A  century  ago  Napoleon's  crossing  of  the  Alps  was  thought 
an  astounding  feat.  During  the  last  thirty  years  troops 
— and  Indian  troops — have  been  moved  about  the  Himalaya 
in  all  seasons  and  crossed  passes  over  15,000  feet  above  sea 
level  in  the  depth  of  winter.  On  the  Gilgit  frontier,  in 
Chitral,  and  in  Tibet,  neither  cold  nor  snow  nor  wind  stopped 
them.  In  winter  or  in  summer,  in  spring  or  in  autumn, 
they  have  faced  the  Himalayan  passes.  And  they  have 
been  able  to  negotiate  them  successfully  because  of  their 
increased  knowledge  of  men's  capacities  and  of  the  way 
to  overcome  difficulties  that  constant  wrestling  with 
mountains  in  all  parts  of  the  world  during  the  last  half- 
century  has  given.  The  activities  of  the  Alpine  Club  have 
produced  direct  practical  results  in  the  movement  of  troops 
in  the  Himalaya. 

More  still  will  foUow.  When  men  have  proved  that 
they  can  surmount  the  highest  peak  in  the  Himalaya  they 
will  take  heart  to  climb  other  peaks  and  become  more  and 
more  at  home  in  that  wonderful  region,  extending  for  nigh 
two  thousand  miles  from  the  Roof  of  the  World  in  the  North 
and  West  to  the  borders  of  Burma  and  China  in  the  South 
and  East  and  containing  more  than  seventy  peaks  over 
24,000  feet  in  height — that  is  higher  than  any  in  the  Andes, 


8  MOUNT  EVEREST 

the  second  highest  range  of  mountains  in  the  world — and 
more  than  eleven  hundred  peaks  over  20,000  feet  in  height. 
This  great  mountain  region  which  in  Europe  would  stretch 
from  Calais  to  the  Caspian  is  one  vast  mine  of  beauty  of 
every  varied  description.  And  a  mine  of  beauty  has  this 
advantage  over  a  mine  of  material  wealth — that  we  can 
never  exhaust  it.  And  not  only  can  we  never  exhaust  it, 
but  the  more  we  take  out  the  more  we  find,  and  the  more 
we  give  away  the  richer  we  are.  We  may  go  on  digging 
into  a  gold  mine,  but  eventually  we  shall  find  there  is  no 
gold  left.  We  shall  have  exhausted  our  mine.  But  we  may 
dig  into  that  mine  of  beauty  in  the  Himalaya  and  never 
exhaust  it.  The  more  we  dig  the  more  we  shall  find — ^richer 
beauty,  subtler  beauty,  more  varied  beauty — beauty  of 
mountain  form  and  beauty  of  pure  and  delicate  colour, 
beauty  of  forest,  beauty  of  river  and  beauty  of  lake  and 
combined  beauty  of  rushing  torrent,  precipitous  cliff,  richest 
vegetation  and  overtopping  snowy  summit.  And  when  we 
have  discovered  these  treasures  and  made  them  our  own 
we  can  actually  increase  their  value  to  ourselves  by  giving 
them  away  to  others.  By  imparting  to  others  the  enjoy- 
ment which  we  have  felt  we  shall  have  increased  our  own 
enjoyment. 

We  cannot  expect  those  who  are  first  engaged  in  climbing 
Mount  Everest  to  have  the  time  or  inclination  to  observe 
and  describe  the  full  beauty  there  is.  They  will  be  set  on  over- 
coming the  physical  difficulties  and  they  will  be  so  exhausted 
for  the  moment  by  the  effort  they  will  have  made  that  they 
will  not  have  the  repose  of  mind  which  is  so  necessary  for 
seeing  and  depicting  beauty.  But  when  they  have  pioneered 
the  way  and  beaten  down  a  path,  others  will  more  leisurely 
follow  after.  Many  even  of  these  may  not  be  able  to  express 
in  words  or  in  picture  the  enjoyment  they  have  felt  and  be 
able  to  communicate  it  to  others.  They  may  not  be  given 
to  public  speech  or  writing  and  may  have  no  capacity  for 
painting.  The  flame  of  their  enjoyment  may  be  kept  sacred 
and  hidden  within  them,  and  it  may  be  only  in  the  privacy 


THE    INTRODUCTION  9 

of  colloquy  with  some  kindred  soul  that  the  white  glow  of 
their  enjoyment  may  ever  be  shown.  But,  others  there 
may  be  who  have  the  capacity  for  making  the  world  at 
large  share  with  them  some  little  of  the  joy  they  have  felt — 
who  can  make  our  nerves  tingle  and  our  blood  course  quicker, 
our  eyes  uplift  themselves  and  our  outlook  widen  as  we 
go  out  with  them  to  face  and  overcome  the  mountains. 
Such  men  as  these  from  their  very  intimacy  with  the 
mountains  are  able  to  point  out  beauties  which  distant 
beholders  would  never  suspect.  And  as  Leslie  Stephen 
through  his  love  of  mountains  has  been  able  to  attract 
thousands  to  the  Alps  and  given  them  enjoyment,  clean 
and  fresh,  which  but  for  him  they  might  never  have  known, 
so  we  hope  that  in  the  fulness  of  time  a  greater  Stephen 
will  teU  of  the  unsurpassable  beauty  of  the  Himalaya  and 
by  so  doing  add  appreciably  to  the  enjoyment  of  human 
life. 

Such  are  some  of  the  advantages  which  men  in  general 
will  obtain  from  the  attempt  to  climb  Mount  Everest. 
But  it  is  time  now  to  say  something  of  the  mountain 
itself. 

Mount  Everest  for  its  size  is  a  singularly  shy  and  retiring 
mountain.  It  hides  itself  away  behind  other  mountains. 
On  the  north  side,  in  Tibet,  it  does  indeed  stand  up  proudly 
and  alone,  a  true  monarch  among  mountains.  But  it  stands 
in  a  very  sparsely  inhabited  part  of  Tibet,  and  very  few 
people  ever  go  to  Tibet.  From  the  Indian  side  only  its 
tip  appears  among  a  mighty  array  of  peaks  which  being 
nearer  look  higher.  Consequently  for  a  long  time  no  one 
suspected  Mount  Everest  of  being  the  supreme  mountain 
not  only  of  the  Himalaya  but  of  the  world.  At  the  time 
when  Hooker  was  making  his  Himalayan  journeys — that 
was  in  1849— Kanchenjunga  was  believed  to  be  the  highest. 

How  it  was  eventually  discovered  to  be  the  highest  is 
a  story  worth  recording.  In  the  very  year  that  Hooker 
was  botanismg  in  the  Sikkim  Himalaya  the  officers  of  the 


10  MOUNT   EVEREST 

Great  Trigonometrical  Survey  were  making  observations 
from  the  plains  of  India  to  the  peaks  in  Nepal  which  could 
be  seen  from  there.  When  they  could  find  a  native  name 
for  a  peak  they  called  it  by  that  name.  But  in  most  cases 
no  native  name  was  forthcoming,  and  in  those  cases  a  Roman 
number  was  affixed  to  the  peak.  Among  these  unnamed 
peaks  to  which  observations  to  determine  the  altitude  and 
position  were  taken  from  stations  in  the  plains  was  Peak  XV. 
The  observations  were  recorded,  but  the  resulting  height 
was  not  computed  till  three  years  later,  and  then  one  day  the 
Bengali  Chief  Computer  rushed  into  the  room  of  the  Surveyor- 
General,  Sir  Andrew  Waugh,  breathlessly  exclaiming,  "  Sir  ! 
I  have  discovered  the  highest  mountain  in  the  world."  The 
mean  result  of  all  the  observations  taken  from  the  six  stations 
from  which  Peak  XV  had  been  observed  came  to  29,002 
feet,  and  this  Peak  XV  is  what  is  now  known  as  Mount 
Everest. 

The  question  is  often  asked,  "  Why  twenty-nine  thousand 
and  two  ?  "  "  Why  be  so  particular  about  the  two  ?  " 
The  answer  is  that  that  particular  figure  is  the  mean  of 
many  observations.  But  it  is  not  infallible.  It  is  indeed 
in  all  probability  below  rather  than  above  the  mark,  and 
a  later  computation  of  the  observed  results  puts  the  height 
at  29,141  feet.  In  any  case,  however,  there  are,  as  Sir 
Sidney  Burrard  has  pointed  out  in  his  discussion  of  this 
point  in  Burrard  and  Hay  den's  Himalaya  and  Tibet,  many 
causes  of  slight  error  in  observing  and  computing  the  altitude 
of  a  distant  and  very  lofty  peak.  The  observations  are 
made  with  a  theodolite.  The  telescope  of  the  theodolite 
may  not  be  absolutely  perfect.  The  theodolite  may  not 
be  levelled  with  perfect  accuracy.  The  graduations  on 
the  circle  of  the  theodolite  may  not  be  quite  accurate.  The 
observer  himself  may  not  have  observed  with  sufficient 
perfection.  An  error  of  ten  feet  may  have  resulted  from 
these  causes.  Then  there  are  other  and  greater  sources  of 
possible  error.  There  may  bo  error  in  the  assumed  height 
of  the  observing  station  ;    and  the  altitudes  of  peaks  are 


THE  INTRODUCTION  11 

always  varying  in  nature  with  the  increase  and  decrease 
of  snow  in  summer  and  winter  and  in  a  season  of  heavy 
snowfall  or  a  season  of  light  snowfall.  Another  source  of 
error  arises  from  the  varying  effects  of  gravitational  attrac- 
tion. "  The  attraction  of  the  great  mass  of  the  Himalaya 
and  Tibet,"  says  Burrard,  "  pulls  all  liquids  towards  itself, 
as  the  moon  attracts  the  ocean  and  the  surface  of  the  water 
assumes  an  irregular  form  at  the  foot  of  the  Himalaya. 
If  the  ocean  were  to  overflow  Northern  India  its  surface 
would  be  deformed  by  Himalayan  attraction.  The  liquid 
in  levels  is  similarly  affected  and  theodolites  cannot  conse- 
quently be  adjusted ;  their  plates  when  levelled  are  still 
tilted  upward  towards  the  mountains,  and  angles  of  observa- 
tion are  too  small  by  the  amount  the  horizon  is  inclined  to 
the  tangential  plane.  At  Darjeeling  the  surface  of  water 
in  repose  is  inclined  about  35"  to  this  plane,  at  Kurseong 
about  51",  at  Siliguri  about  23",  at  Dehra  Dun  and  Mussooree 
about  37".  For  this  reason  all  angles  of  elevation  to  Himalayan 
peaks  measured  from  the  plains,  as  Mount  Everest  was 
measured,  are  too  small  and  consequently  all  our  values 
of  Himalayan  heights  are  too  small.  Errors  of  this  nature 
range  from  40  to  100  feet." 

This  then  is  a  considerable  source  of  error,  but  the 
most  serious  source  of  uncertainty  affecting  the  value  of 
heights  is  the  refraction  of  the  atmosphere.  A  ray  of  light 
from  a  peak  to  an  observer's  eye  does  not  travel  along  a 
straight  line  but  assumes  a  curved  path  concave  to  the 
earth.  The  ray  enters  the  observer's  eye  in  a  direction 
tangential  to  the  curve  at  that  point,  and  this  is  the  direction 
in  which  the  observer  sees  the  peak.  It  makes  the  peak 
appear  too  high.  Corrections  have  therefore  to  be  applied. 
But  there  is  no  certainty  as  to  what  should  be  the  amount 
of  the  correction  ;  and  it  is  now  believed  that  the  computers 
of  the  height  of  Mount  Everest  applied  too  great  a  correction 
for  refraction  and  consequently  reduced  its  height  too 
much. 

Burrard  brings  together  in  the  following  table  the  different 


12 


MOUNT  EVEREST 


errors  to  which  the  carefully  determined  height  of  Mount 
Everest  is  liable  : — 


Source  of  error. 


Magnitude  of  possible 
error. 


Variation  of  snow  level  from  the  mean 

Errors  of  observation 

Adoption  of  erroneous  height  for  observing  station 

Deviation  of  gravity 

Atmospheric  refraction 


Unknown 
10  feet 
10  feet 

60  feet,  too  small 
150  feet,  too  small 


The  following  table  shows  how  the  different  values  of 
the  height  of  Mount  Everest  have  been  deduced  : — 


Height  of  Mount  Everest 


Determination 

Observing  station. 

Year  of 
observation. 

Distance 
in  miles. 

Height  as 
determined 
by  Waugh. 

of  height 

with  revised 

correction  for 

refraction. 

Feet 

Feet 

Jirol 

1849 

118 

28,991 

29,141 

Mirzapur 

1849 

108 

29,005 

29,135 

Joafpati   .... 

1849 

108 

29,001 

29,117 

Ladnia     .... 

1849 

108 

29,998 

29,144 

Harpur     . 

1849 

111 

29,026 

29,146 

Minai 

1850 

113 

28,990 

29,160 

Suberkur 

1881 

87 

— 

29,141 

Suberkum 

1883 

87 

— 

29,127 

Tiger  Hill      .      .      . 

1880 

107 

— 

29,140 

Sandakphu    . 

1883 

89 

— 

29,142 

PhaHut     .... 

1902 

85 

— 

29,151 

Senchal    .... 

1902 

108 

— 

29,134 

Mean 

— 

— 

29,002 

29,141 

The  height  29,141  is  still,  Burrard  thinks,  too  small,  as 
it  has  yet  to  be  corrected  for  the  deviations  of  gravity.  But 
though  it  is  a  more  reliable  result  than  29,002,  the  latter  is 


THE   INTRODUCTION  13 

still  to  be  retained  in  maps  and  publications  of  the  Survey 
of  India. 

As  to  the  name,  it  was  called  Everest  after  the  distin- 
guished Surveyor-General  of  India  under  whose  direction 
the  triangulation  had  been  carried  out,  one  result  of  which 
was  the  discovery  of  the  mountain.  From  the  Indian 
side  and  Nepal  it  is  not  a  conspicuous  peak  on  account  of 
its  lying  so  far  back.  No  native  name  for  it  could  be 
discovered  and  Sir  Andrew  Waugh,  the  successor  of  Sir 
George  Everest,  called  it  after  his  predecessor.  From  the 
Tibetan  side  it  is  much  more  conspicuous  and,  as  General 
Bruce  stated  in  his  lecture  to  the  Royal  Geographical  Society 
in  November  1920,  and  as  Colonel  Howard-Bury  found 
in  1921,  the  Tibetans  call  it  Chomo-lungmo,  which  Colonel 
Howard-Bury  translated,  the  "  Goddess  Mother  of  the 
Mountains " — a  most  appropriate  name.  But  the  name 
Mount  Everest  is  now  so  firmly  established  throughout  the 
world  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  change  it.  It  is 
therefore  now  definitely  adopted. 

Now,  this  mountain  so  coveted  by  mountaineers  is 
unfortunately  situated  exactly  on  the  border  between  two 
of  the  most  secluded  countries  in  the  world — Nepal  and 
Tibet.  To  reach  it  the  climbers  must  niss  through  one 
or  other  of  these  countries  and  the  difficulty  of  getting  the 
necessary  permission  is  what  has  so  far*  prevVnted  any 
attempt  being  made  to  attack  Mount  Everest.  ^  "^^  /recently 
access  through  Tibet  has  become  more  possible,  and  it  so 
happens  that  it  is  on  the  Tibetan  side  that  the  summit  seems 
most  accessible.  From  the  distant  views  that  could  be 
obtained  of  it  from  Sandakphu  beyond  Darjeelmg  and 
from  Kampa  Dzong  in  Tibet,  a  ridge  running  from  the  summit 
in  a  northerly  direction  seemed  to  give  good  promise  of 
access.  Major  Ryder  and  Captain  Rawling  in  1904,  viewing 
the  mountain  from  a  distance  of  sixty  miles  almost  due 
north,  thought  the  mountain  might  be  approached  from 
that  du'ection.  At  the  same  time  the  Tibetans  were 
jiistinctly  more  favourable  to  travellers  than  they  had  ever 


14  MOUNT  EVEREST 

been  before.  The  chances  therefore  of  at  least  exploring 
Mount  Everest  were  much  more  promising,  and  Major 
Rawling  was  planning  an  expedition  of  exploration  when 
the  war  broke  out  and  he  was  killed. 

IVIr.  Douglas  Freshfield  would  certainly  have  taken  the 
matter  up  during  his  Presidency  of  the  Royal  Geographical 
Society,  but  he  had  the  misfortune  to  hold  that  post  during 
the  years  of  the  war  and  no  action  was  possible.  But  as 
soon  as  the  war  was  over  interest  in  Mount  Everest  revived. 
In  March  1919  Captain  J.  B,  L.  Noel  read  a  paper  to  the 
Royal  Geographical  Society  describing  a  reconnaissance 
he  had  made  in  the  direction  of  the  mountain  in  the  year 
1913.  He  showed  how  attention  during  the  last  few  years 
had  been  focused  more  and  more  upon  the  Himalaya  and 
said,  "Now  that  the  Poles  have  been  reached,  it  is  generally 
felt  that  the  next  and  equally  important  task  is  the  explora- 
tion and  mapping  of  Mount  Everest."  So  he  urged  that 
the  exploration  which  had  been  the  ambition  of  the  late 
General  Rawling  with  whom  he  was  to  have  joined  should 
be  accomplished  in  his  memory.  "  It  cannot  be  long," 
he  continued,  "  before  the  culminating  summit  of  the  world 
is  visited  and  its  ridges,  valleys  and  glaciers  are  mapped 
and  photographed."  And  at  the  conclusion  of  his  lecture 
he  said  that  "  some  day  the  political  difficulties  will  be 
overcome  and  a  fully  equipped  expedition  must  explore  and 
map  Mount  Everest." 

It  was  not  clear  whether  Captain  Noel  was  advocating 
a  definite  attempt  to  climb  the  mountain  and  reach  the 
actual  summit,  and  Mr.  Douglas  Freshfield  and  Dr.  Kellas 
who  followed  after  him  referred  only  to  the  approaches  to 
Mount  Everest.  But  Captain  J.  P.  Farrar,  the  then 
President  of  the  Alpine  Club,  seems  to  have  considered  it 
"  a  proposal  to  attempt  the  ascent  of  Mount  Everest,"  and 
said  that  the  Alpine  Club  took  the  keenest  interest  in  the 
proposal  and  was  prepared  not  only  to  lend  such  financial 
aid  as  was  in  its  power,  but  also  to  recommend  two  or  three 
young    mountaineers    quite    capable    of    dealing    with    any 


THE   INTRODUCTION  15 

purely  mountaineering  difficulties  which  were  likely  to  be 
met  with  on  Mount  Everest. 

The  hour  was  late,  but  I  was  so  struck  by  the  ring  of 
assurance  and  determination  in  the  words  of  the  President 
of  the  Alpine  Club  that  I  could  not  help  asking  the  President, 
Sir  Thomas  Holdich,  to  let  me  say  a  few  words.  I  then 
told  how  General  Bruce  had  made  to  me,  twenty-six  years 
ago,  the  proposal  to  climb  Mount  Everest.  I  said  the 
Royal  Geographical  Society  was  interested  in  the  project 
and  now  we  had  heard  the  President  of  the  Alpine  Club 
say  that  he  had  young  mountaineers  ready  to  undertake 
the  work.  I  added,  "  It  must  be  done."  There  might  be 
one  or  two  attempts  before  we  were  successful,  but  the  first 
thing  to  do  was  to  get  over  the  trouble  with  our  own 
Government.  If  they  were  approached  properly  by  Societies 
like  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  and  the  Alpine  Club, 
and  a  reasonable  scheme  were  put  before  them  and  it  were 
proved  to  them  that  we  meant  business,  then,  I  said,  they 
would  be  reasonable  and  do  what  we  wanted.  This  was  a 
big  business  and  must  be  done  in  a  big  way  and  I  hoped 
that  something  really  serious  would  come  of  that  meeting.  ^ 

Sir  Thomas  Holdich  in  closing  the  meeting  advocated 
approaching  Mount  Everest  through  Nepal,  and  hoped 
that  at  some  time  not  very  remote  we  should  hear  more 
about  the  proposed  expedition  to  Mount  Everest. 

Only  a  few  days  after  the  meeting  I  met  Colonel  Howard- 
Bury  at  lunch  with  a  Fellow  of  our  Society,  IVIr.  C.  P. 
McCarthy.  He  was  not  a  mountaineer  in  the  Alpine  Club  sense 
of  the  word,  but  he  had  spent  much  of  his  time  shooting  in  the 

1  In  the  enthusiasm  of  the  moment  I  seem  to  have  displayed  a  regret- 
table excess  of  "  nationalism  "  !  According  to  the  record,  I  expressed  the 
hope  that  it  would  be  an  Englishman  who  first  stood  on  the  summit  of 
Mount  Everest.  I  trust  my  foreign  friends  will  excuse  me  !  I  have  this 
at  least  to  plead  in  extenuation,  that  if  I  have  always  striven  for  my  ovra 
countrymen  when  they  led  the  way,  I  have  never  been  backward  in  helping 
explorers  of  other  nationaHtics  whom  I  have  met  in  the  Himalaya  ;  and 
I  have  received  the  thanks  of  both  the  French  and  Itahan  Governments 
for  the  help  I  have  given  to  French  and  Italian  explorers. 


16  MOUNT   EVEREST 

Alps  and  in  the  Himalaya,  and  becoming  deeply  interested 
in  the  Mount  Everest  project,  had  a  talk  with  Mr.  Freshfield 
about  it  and  made  a  formal  application  to  the  Society  for 
their  support  in  undertakmg  an  expedition.  Things  now 
began  to  move,  and  the  Society  appUed  to  the  India  Office 
for  permission  to  send  an  expedition  into  Tibet  for  the 
purpose  of  exploring  Mount  Everest.  The  Government 
of  India  in  reply  said  that  they  were  not  prepared  at  the 
moment  to  approach  the  Tibetan  Government ;  but  they 
did  not  return  any  absolute  refusal. 

During  my  Presidency  the  Society,  in  conjunction  with 
the  Alpine  Club,  still  further  pressed  the  matter.  We  asked 
the  Secretary  of  State  for  India  to  receive  a  deputation 
from  the  two  bodies,  and  the  request  being  granted  and  the 
deputation  being  assured  of  his  sympathy  we  invited  Colonel 
Howard-Bury  to  proceed  to  India  in  June  1920  to  explain 
our  wishes  personally  to  the  Government  of  India,  and  ask 
them  to  obtain  for  us  from  the  Dalai  Lama  the  necessary 
permission  to  enter  Tibet  for  the  purpose  of  exploring  and 
climbing  Mount  Everest.  Lord  Chelmsford,  the  Viceroy, 
received  Colonel  Howard-Bury  most  sympathetically  and 
after  some  preliminary  difficulties  had  been  overcome,  Mr. 
Bell,  the  Political  Agent  in  Sikkim,  who  happened  to  be  in 
Lhasa,  was  instructed  to  ask  the  Dalai  Lama  for  permission, 
and  Mr.  Bell  being  on  most  friendly  terms  with  His  Holiness, 
permission  was  at  once  granted. 

The  one  great  obstacle  in  the  way  of  approaching  Mount 
Everest  had  now  at  last  been  removed.  What  so  many 
keen  mountaineers  had  for  years  di'eamed  of  was  within 
sight.  And  as  soon  as  the  welcome  news  arrived — early  in 
January  1921 — preparations  were  commenced  to  organise 
an  expedition.  A  joint  Committee  of  three  representatives 
each  from  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  and  the  Alpine 
Club  was  formed  under  the  Chairmanship  of  the  President 
of  the  former  Society  and  was  named  the  Mount  Everest 
Committee.  The  three  members  of  the  Society  were  Sir 
Francis  Younghusband,  Mr.  E.  L.  Somers-Cocks  (Honorary 


THE  INTRODUCTION  17 

Treasurer)  and  Colonel  Jack.  The  three  members  of  the 
Alpine  Club  were  Professor  Norman  Collie,  Captain  J.  P. 
Farrar  and  Mr.  C.  F.  Meade.  Mr.  Eaton  and  Mr.  Hinks  were 
Honorary  Secretaries. 

Our  first  business  was  to  select  a  leader  for  the  Expedition. 
General  Bruce,  who  had  had  the  idea  in  his  mind  for  so 
many  years,  who  knew  the  Himalaya  as  no  one  else  did, 
and  who  had  a  special  aptitude  for  handling  Himalayan 
people,  was  now  in  England,  and  it  was  to  him  our  thoughts 
first  turned.  But  he  had  just  taken  up  an  appointment 
with  the  Glamorganshire  Territorial  Association  and  was  not 
then  available.  In  these  circumstances  we  were  fortunate  in 
having  ready  to  hand  a  man  with  such  high  qualifications  as 
Colonel  Howard-Bury.  He  had  much  to  do  on  his  property 
in  Ireland,  but  he  willingly  accepted  our  invitation  to  lead 
the  Expedition,  and  we  could  then  proceed  to  the  choice  of 
the  mountaineers. 

From  the  very  first  we  decided  that  the  main  object 
of  the  Expedition  was  to  be  the  ascent  of  the  mountain  and 
that  all  other  activities  were  to  be  made  subordinate  to  the 
supreme  object  of  reaching  the  summit.  It  was  to  be  no 
mere  surveying  or  geologising  or  botanising  expedition 
which  would  as  a  secondary  object  try  to  climb  the  moun- 
tain if  it  saw  a  chance.  To  climb  the  mountain  was  to  be 
the  first  object  and  the  mapping  and  everything  else  was 
to  come  afterwards.  The  reason  for  this  is  obvious.  What 
men  really  want  to  know  is  whether  man  can  ascend  the 
highest  mountain. 

Knowledge  of  the  topography,  fauna  and  flora  of  that 
particular  area  is  of  very  small  consequence  in  comparison 
with  the  knowledge  of  human  capacity  to  surmount  the 
highest  point  in  men's  physical  surroundings  on  this  earth. 
By  some  perversity  of  human  nature  there  are  men  who 
shy  at  putting  the  ascent  of  Blount  Everest  in  the  forefront, 
because  it  is  adventurous  and  must  therefore,  they  seem 
to  think,  cease  to  be  a  scientific  object.  They  profess  to 
be  unconcerned  with  the  climbing  of  the  mountain  so  long 

M.E.  c 


18  MOUNT   EVEREST 

as  a  map  is  made  or  plants  collected.  But  the  plain  man 
instinctively  sees  the  value  of  the  adventure  and  knows 
that  the  successful  ascent  of  Mount  Everest  will  show  what 
man  is  capable  of  and  put  new  hope  and  heart  into  the  human 
race. 

But  while  it  was  decided  to  make  the  ascent  of  Mount 
Everest  the  main  object  of  the  Expedition,  Professor  Norman 
CoUie  and  Mr.  Douglas  Freshfield  from  the  first  insisted 
that  a  whole  season  must  be  devoted  to  a  thorough  recon- 
naissance of  the  mountain  with  a  view  to  finding  not  only 
a  feasible  route  to  the  summit  but  what  was  without  any 
doubt  the  most  feasible  route.  We  knew  nothing  of  the 
immediate  approaches  to  the  mountain.  But  we  knew 
that  the  only  chance  of  reaching  the  summit  was  by  finding 
some  way  up  which  would  entail  little  rock-climbing  or  ice 
step-cutting.  The  mountain  had  therefore  to  be  prospected 
from  every  side  to  find  a  comparatively  easy  route  and  to 
make  sure  that  no  other  easier  route  than  the  one  selected 
existed.  This  was  considered  ample  work  for  the  Expedi- 
tion for  one  season,  while  the  following  season  would  be 
devoted  to  an  all-out  effort  to  reach  the  summit  along  the 
route  selected  in  the  first  year. 

On  this  basis  the  first  year's  Expedition  had  accordingly 
to  be  organised.  The  mountain  party  was  to  consist  of 
four  members,  two  of  whom  were  to  be  men  of  considerable 
experience  and  two  younger  men  who  it  was  hoped  would 
form  the  nucleus  of  the  climbing  party  the  next  year. 
Mr.  Harold  Raeburn,  a  member  of  the  Alpine  Club  who 
had  had  great  experience  of  snow  and  rock  work  in  the 
Alps,  and  who  had  in  1920  been  climbing  on  the  spurs  of 
Kanchenjunga,  was  invited  to  lead  the  mountain  party. 
Dr.  Kellas,  who  had  made  several  climbing  expeditions  in 
the  Himalaya  and  had  in  1920  ascended  to  a  height  of  23,400 
feet  on  Mount  Kamet,  was  also  invited  to  join  the  climbing 
party.  He  had  been  making  experiments  in  the  use  of 
oxygen  at  high  altitudes  and  was  still  out  in  India  preparing 
to  continue  these  experiments  on  Mount  Kamet  in   1921, 


THE   INTRODUCTION  19 

It  was  suggested  to  him  that  he  should  make  the  experi- 
ments on  Mount  Everest  instead,  and  the  party  would  thereby 
have  the  benefit  of  his  wide  Himalayan  experience.  This 
invitation  he  accepted. 

The  two  younger  members  selected  for  the  climbing 
party  were  Mr.  George  Leigh  Mallory  and  Captain  George 
Finch,  both  with  a  very  high  reputation  for  climbing  in  the 
Alps.  Unfortunately  Captain  Finch  was  for  the  time 
indisposed  and  his  place  at  the  last  moment  had  to  be 
taken  by  Mr.  BuUock  of  the  Consular  Service,  who  had 
been  at  Winchester  with  Mr.  Mallory  and  who  happened 
to  be  at  home  on  leave.  Through  the  courtesy  of  Lord 
Curzon  he  was  able  to  get  special  leave  of  absence  from  the 
Foreign  Office. 

While  we  were  finding  the  men  we  had  also  to  be  finding 
the  money.  As  a  quite  rough  guess  we  estimated  the 
Expedition  for  the  two  years  would  cost  about  £10,000,  and 
at  least  a  substantial  portion  of  this  had  to  be  raised  by 
private  subscription.  Appeals  were  made  by  their  Presidents 
to  the  Fellows  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  and  to 
members  of  the  Alpine  Club,  and  Captain  Farrar  was 
especially  energetic  in  urging  the  claims  of  the  enterprise. 
An  a  result  the  members  of  the  Alpine  Club  subscribed  over 
£3,000  and  the  Fellows  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society 
nearly  that  amount.  Later  on  with  the  advice  and  help 
of  Mr.  John  Buchan  arrangements  were  made  with  The 
Times  and  the  Philadelphia  Ledger  for  the  purchase  of  the 
rights  of  publication  of  telegrams  from  the  Expedition,  and 
with  the  Graphic  for  the  purchase  of  photographs.  So 
eventually  the  financial  position  of  the  Expedition  was  assured. 

The  equipment  and  provisioning  of  the  Expedition  was 
undertaken  by  the  Equipment  Committee — Captain  Farrar 
and  Mr.  Meade — and  the  greatest  trouble  was  taken  to 
ensure  that  the  most  suitable  and  best  tents,  sleeping 
bags,  clothing,  boots,  ice-axes,  ropes,  cooking  apparatus, 
provisions,  etc.,  were  purchased  and  that  they  were 
properly  packed  and  listed, 


20  MOUNT   EVEREST 

In  the  same  way  the  scientific  equipment  was  under- 
taken by  Colonel  Jack  and  Mr.  Hinks. 

Finally  the  services  of  ]Mr.  WoUaston,  well  known  for 
his  journeys  in  New  Guinea  and  East  Africa,  were  secured 
as  Medical  Officer  and  Naturalist  to  the  Expedition. 

Throughout  these  preparations  the  advice  and  help  of 
the  best  men  in  every  line  were  freely  and  willingly  forth- 
coming. For  such  an  enterprise  all  were  ready  to  give  a 
helping  hand.  Whether  they  were  scientific  men,  or  business 
men  or  journalists,  they  were  ready  to  throw  aside  their  own 
work  and  devote  hours  to  ensuring  that  the  Expedition  should 
be  a  success  along  the  lines  on  which  they  severally  had 
most  experience. 

And  most  valuable  was  the  encouragement  given  to  the 
Expedition  by  the  interest  which  His  Majesty  showed  in 
conversation  with  the  President,  and  His  Royal  Highness 
the  Prince  of  Wales  in  receiving  Colonel  Howard-Bury — 
an  interest  which  was  shown  in  practical  form  by  generous 
subscriptions  to  the  funds  of  the  Expedition. 

The  Expedition  was  able,  therefore,  to  set  out  from  England 
under  the  most  favourable  auspices,  and  it  was  to  be  joined 
in  India  by  two  officers  of  the  Indian  Survey  Department, 
Major  Morshead  and  Major  Wheeler,  and  by  an  officer  of 
the  Indian  Geological  Survey,  Dr.  Heron.  It  was  thus 
admirably  equipped  for  the  acquirement  of  knowledge. 
But  acquirement  of  knowledge  was  not  the  only  object 
which  the  Expedition  had  in  view.  It  could  not  be  doubted 
that  the  region  would  possess  beauty  of  exceptional  grandeur. 
So  it  was  hoped  that  the  Expedition  would  discover,  describe 
and  reveal  to  us,  by  camera  and  by  pen,  beauty  no  less 
valuable  than  the  knowledge. 


THE    NARRATIVE   OF    THE 
EXPEDITION 

By 
LIEUT.-COL.    C.    K.    HOWARD-BURY,    D.S.O. 


CHAPTER  I 
FROM  DARJEELING  THROUGH   SIKKIM 

Early  in  May  most  of  the  members  of  the  Expedition 
had  assembled  at  Darjeeling.  Mr.  Raeburn  had  been  the 
first  to  arrive  there  in  order  to  collect  as  many  coolies  of  the 
right  type  as  he  could.  I  had  come  out  a  few  weeks  earher 
in  order  to  visit  the  Indian  Authorities  at  Simla  and  to 
make  sure  that  there  were  no  political  difficulties  in  the  way. 
There  I  found  every  one  very  kmd  and  helpful  and  all  were 
anxious  to  do  their  best  to  assist  the  Expedition.  Owing 
to  the  heavy  deficit  in  the  Indian  Budget,  the  expenses  of 
every  Department  had  been  rigorously  cut  down,  and  the 
Government  of  India  were  unable  to  give  us  financial 
assistance.  They  agreed,  however,  to  take  upon  themselves 
the  whole  of  the  expenses  of  the  survey,  and  to  lend  the 
Expedition  the  services  of  an  officer  of  the  Geological 
Department.  The  Viceroy,  Lord  Reading,  who,  together 
with  Lady  Reading,  took  the  greatest  interest  in  the 
Expedition,  kindly  gave  us  a  subscription  of  750  rupees, 
and  at  Darjeeling  the  Governor  of  Bengal,  Lord  Ronaldshay, 
had  not  only  put  up  several  members  of  the  Expedition  at 
his  most  comfortable  house,  but  had  also  given  the  Expedition 
several  rooms  in  which  to  collect  their  stores  for  separation 
and  division  into  loads.  Local  stores,  such  as  tea,  sugar, 
flour  and  potatoes  had  to  be  bought  on  the  spot.  Coolies 
had  to  be  collected  and  arrangements  made  for  fitting  them 
out  with  boots  and  warm  clothing.  The  coolies  were  to 
receive  pay  at  the  rate  of  12  annas  per  day  while  in  Sikkim, 
and  when  in  Tibet  were  to  receive  another  6  annas  per  day, 
either  in  cash  or  the  equivalent  in  rations.  The  former 
proved  the  most  acceptable  eventually,  except  during  the 

23 


24       THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

period  when  the  coolies  were  up  on  the  glaciers,  where  there 
were  no  villages  and  consequently  nothing  could  be  bought. 
A  passport  had  been  sent  to  us  by  the  Government  at 
Lhasa  under  the  seal  of  the  Prime  Minister  of  Tibet,  of  which 
the  following  is  a  translation  : — 

To 
The  Jongpens  and  Headmen  of  Pharijong,  Ting-ke,  Khamba  and  Kharta. 
You  are  to  bear  in  mind  that  a  party  of  Sahibs  are  coming  to  see  the 
Chha-mo-lung-ma  mountain  and  they  will  evince  great  friendship  towards 
the  Tibetans.  On  the  request  of  the  Great  IMinister  Bell  a  passport  has 
been  issued  requiring  you  and  all  officials  and  subjects  of  the  Tibetan  Govern- 
ment to  supply  transport,  e.g.  riding  ponies,  pack  animals  and  coolies 
as  required  by  the  Sahibs,  the  rates  for  which  should  be  fixed  to  mutual 
satisfaction.  Any  other  assistance  that  the  Sahibs  may  require  either 
by  day  or  by  night,  on  the  march  or  during  halts,  should  be  faithfully 
given,  and  their  requirements  about  transport  or  anything  else  should  be 
promptly  attended  to.  All  the  people  of  the  country,  wherever  the  Sahibs 
may  happen  to  come,  should  render  all  necessary  assistance  in  the  best 
possible  way,  in  order  to  maintain  friendly  relations  between  the  British  and 
Tibetan  Governments. 

Despatched  during  the  Iron-Bird  Year. 
Seal  of  the  Prime  Mnister. 

Our  start  had  been  originally  arranged  for  the  middle  of 
May,  but  the  "  Hatarana,"  in  which  were  most  of  our 
stores,  was  unable  to  obtain  a  berth,  as  accommodation  in 
the  Docks  at  Calcutta  was  very  insufficient  for  the  large 
number  of  steamers  that  call  there  ;  she  had  therefore  to 
lie  out  in  the  Hoogly  for  a  fortnight  before  she  could  get 
room  in  the  Docks.  However,  by  May  11  everything  was 
unloaded  at  Calcutta.  The  Darjeeling-Himalayan  Railway 
had  generously  given  the  Expedition  a  free  pass  over  their  line 
for  all  stores  and  goods,  and  as  the  Customs  had  granted  a 
free  entry  into  the  country,  everything  was  up  in  Darjeeling 
by  May  14.  The  time  of  waiting  at  Darjeeling  had,  however, 
not  been  wasted.  Four  cooks  had  been  engaged  for  the 
Expedition  and  some  forty  coolies.  These  were  Sherpa 
Bhotias,  whose  homes  were  in  the  North-east  corner  of 
Nepal,  some  of  them  coming  from  villages  only  a  few  miles 
to  the  South  of  Mount  Everest.     They  were  an  especially 


FROM  DARJEELING  THROUGH   SIKKIM       25 

hardy  type  of  coolie,  accustomed  to  living  in  a  cold  climate 
and  at  great  heights.  They  were  Buddhists  by  religion  and 
therefore  had  no  caste  prejudices  about  food,  and  could 
eat  anything.  They  proved  at  times  quarrelsome  and  rather 
fond  of  strong  drink ;  they  turned  out,  however,  to  be  a  useful 
and  capable  type  of  man,  easily  trained  in  snow  and  ice  work 
and  not  afraid  of  the  snow.  We  later  on  picked  up  a  few 
Tibetan  coolies  in  the  Chumbi  Valley  and  these  proved  to 
be  as  good  as  the  best  of  the  Sherpas.  They  were  very 
hardy  and  got  on  well  with  the  Tibetans,  who  were  always 
rather  suspicious  of  our  Nepalese  coolies.  They  were  also 
less  troublesome  to  manage  and  could  carry  heavy  loads  at 
great  heights.  These  coolies  had  all  to  be  fitted  with  boots 
and  very  difficult  this  sometimes  proved  to  be,  as  often  their 
feet  were  almost  as  broad  as  they  were  long.  Blankets, 
cap  comforters,  fur  gloves  and  warm  clothing  were  issued 
to  all  of  them,  and  for  those  who  had  to  sleep  at  the 
highest  camps,  eiderdown  sleeping-bags  were  also  taken. 
Arrangements  had  also  to  be  made  for  interpreters  to 
accompany  the  Expedition,  as  with  the  exception  of  Major 
Morshead,  who  knew  a  little  Tibetan,  no  one  was  able  to 
speak  the  language.  It  was  a  matter  of  great  importance 
to  get  hold  of  the  right  type  of  man  as  interpreter.  It  was 
essential  to  find  men  of  some  position  and  standing  who 
knew  not  only  the  Tibetan  language,  but  also  aU  their  ways 
and  customs.  After  many  names  had  been  suggested,  we 
were  very  lucky  in  getting  hold  of  two  men  who  possessed 
these  qualifications  to  a  great  extent.  Gyalzen  Kazi,  who 
came  from  Gangtok  in  Sikkim,  where  he  was  a  Kazi  and 
landowner,  was  a  young  and  ambitious  man  who  knew  the 
Tibetan  language  well  and  was  well  read  in  their  sacred 
writings  and  scriptures.  The  other  one,  Chheten  Wangdi, 
was  a  Tibetan  who  had  been  for  a  time  a  captain  in  the 
Tibetan  army,  and  who  had  left  them  and  been  attached 
to  the  Indian  army  in  Egypt  during  the  war.  He  was  a 
most  energetic,  hard-working  man,  loiew  all  the  Tibetan 
manners  and  customs,   and  was  up  to  all  thek  tricks   of 


26       THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

procrastination  and  attempts  at  overcharging.  By  his 
knowledge  and  persuasive  powers  the  Expedition  was  saved 
many  thousand  rupees. 

The   Expedition   when   it  left  Darjeeling  included  nine 
Europeans.     The  Alpine  climbers  were  Mr.  Harold  Raeburn, 
Dr.  A.  M.  Kellas,  Mr.  G.  L.  Mallory  and  Mr.  C.  H.  Bullock. 
Dr.    KeUas  had  unfortunately  in  the  early  spring  of  this 
year  tried  his  constitution  very  severely  by  climbing  Narsing/ 
and  he  had  also  spent  several  nights  at  very  low  temperatures 
in   camps   over   20,000   feet,    on   the   slopes   of   Kabru,^   so 
that  when  he  arrived  at  Darjeeling  a  few  days  before    the 
Expedition  was  due  to  start,  he  was  not  in  as  j&t  a  condition 
as  he  should  have  been.     The  two  Surveyors  were  Major 
H.   T.   Morshead,  D.S.O.,  and  Major   0.    E.   Wheeler,   M.C. 
These  officers  had  been  lent  by  the  Survey  of  India.     Major 
Morshead  had  already  a  considerable  experience  of  travelling 
in  the  Eastern  borders  of  Tibet  and  in  the  Kham  country, 
where  he  had  carried  out  some  useful  survey  work,   and 
under  him  were  three  native  surveyors,  one  of  whom  was 
left  in  Sikkim  to  revise  the  existing  maps,  which  were  very 
inaccurate,   while  the   other  two,   Gujar   Singh  and   Lalbir 
Singh,    accompanied   the   Expedition   and   filled   in   all   the 
details  of  the  country  traversed  on  their  plane  tables  at  a 
scale  of  4  miles  to  the  inch.     Major  0.  E.  Wheeler,  the  other 
Surveyor,  was  a  member  of  the  Canadian  Alpine  Club  and 
a  very  keen  climber  himself.      He  was  an   expert  in   the 
Canadian    system    of    Photo    Survey — a    method    especially 
useful  and  applicable  to  a  difficult  and  mountainous  country. 
The  Indian  Government  had  also  lent  the  Expedition  the 
services  of  Dr.  A.  M.   Heron,  of  the  Geological  Survey  of 
India,  in  order  to  study  the  geology  of  the  country  through 
which  it  was  about  to  go,  and  about  which  nothing  was 
known,  and  to  investigate  the  problems  which  surround  the 
age   and   the   structure   of   the   Himalayan   range.     Besides 
these,  there  was  Mr.  A.  F.  Wollaston,  a  member  of  the  Alpine 
Club  and  a  very  distinguished  traveller  as  well,  who  had 
'  Narsing  and  Kabru  are  two  high  mountains  in  the  North  of  Sikkim. 


FROM  DARJEELING  THROUGH   SIKKIM        27 

made  some  most  interesting  journeys  around  Ruwenzori 
in  Africa  and  in  the  interior  of  New  Guinea.  He  accompanied 
the  Expedition  in  the  capacity  of  Doctor,  NaturaHst  and 
Botanist,  and  was  equipped  with  a  complete  collector's 
outfit. 

During  our  time  of  enforced  waiting  at  Darjeeling,  we 
came  in  for  the  Lebong  races — a  unique  and  very  amusing 
entertainment.  The  course  is  a  small  circular  one,  where 
the  top  of  the  Lebong  spur  has  been  levelled,  and  only  genuine 
Tibetan  and  Bhotia  ponies  are  allowed  to  race  there.  There 
were  always  large  entries  for  these  races,  as  they  were  very 
popular  among  the  hill-folk,  who  flocked  into  Darjeeling 
from  great  distances,  dressed  in  their  finest  clothes  and  with 
their  women  covered  with  jewellery  and  wearing  clothing 
of  brilliant  shades  of  green  and  red.  There  was  very  heavy 
betting  on  each  race,  and  the  amount  of  money  that  the 
coolies,  sirdars  or  servants  were  able  to  put  up  was 
astonishing.  In  most  of  the  races  there  was  at  least  a  field 
of  ten,  which  made  the  start  a  very  amusing  affair.  The 
jockeys  were  all  hill-boys,  and  as  they  and  the  ponies  were 
up  to  every  dodge  and  trick,  and  were  equally  anxious  to 
get  off  first,  and  as  most  of  the  ponies  had  mouths  of  ii'on, 
it  was  always  a  long  time  before  a  start  could  be  made,  and 
in  nearly  every  race  one  or  more  of  the  ponies  would  run 
out  of  the  course  at  the  point  nearest  its  own  home. 

On  May  13  Major  Morshead  with  his  assistant  surveyors 
and  fifty  coolies  left  Darjeeling  for  Khamba  Dzong.  They 
went  the  direct  road  up  the  Teesta  Valley  correcting  the 
Sikkim  map  as  they  went  along.  Their  object  in  going 
this  way  was  to  connect  the  Indian  Survey  with  the  new 
survey  that  it  was  proposed  to  carry  out  in  Tibet.  This 
would  occupy  all  Major  Morshead's  time  until  we  should  be 
able  to  join  him  at  Khamba  Dzong  in  June. 

The  chief  transport  of  the  Expedition  consisted  of  100 
mules  belonging  to  the  Supply  and  Transport  Corps  and 
lent  to  us  by  the  Commander-in-Chief.  These  arrived  at 
DarjeeHng  a  few  days  before  we  were  due  to  start  and  were 


28       THE   NARRATIVE   OE   THE   EXPEDITION 

camped  in  the  open  on  the  old  parade  ground  at  the  top  of 
Katapahar.  Sub-Conductor  Taylor,  who  had  already  had 
experience  of  mule  transport  in  Tibet  in  1904-5,  and  was 
to  have  come  in  charge  of  them,  was  unfortunately  laid  up 
at  the  last  moment  with  a  bad  attack  of  influenza.  The 
next  man  chosen  was  passed  medically  unfit,  and  the  third 
man  in  temporary  charge  of  the  mules  was,  when  he  arrived 
at  Darjeeling,  aheady  suffering  from  ague.  It  was  not  till 
May  15  that  Sergeant  Fowkes  arrived,  who  was  to  take 
charge  of  the  mules.  He  was  a  very  capable  and  energetic 
N.C.O.,  and  their  subsequent  failure  was  in  no  way  due  to 
him,  but  solely  to  the  fact  that  the  mules  were  in  no  kind  of 
condition  to  do  hard  work  in  the  hills,  being  sleek  and  fat 
from  the  plains  where  they  had  had  very  little  work  to  do. 
The  muleteers,  or  drabies,  were  all  hill-men  and  had  been 
picked  out  specially  for  us  and  fitted  out  with  every  kind 
of  warm  clothing.  Though  there  were  a  hundred  mules, 
this  did  not  mean  that  there  were  a  hundred  mules  to  carry 
our  loads — so  much  extra  warm  clothing  and  blankets  had 
been  given  to  the  drabies  that  together  with  all  their  line 
gear  it  needed  twenty-seven  mules  to  carry  their  kit,  which 
left  only  seventy-tlu-ee  mules  for  the  Expedition  loads, 
each  mule  carrying  160  lb.,  and  this  was  not  nearly  sufficient 
for  our  requirements.  A  certain  amount  of  our  stores  had 
therefore  to  be  left  behind  at  Government  House,  Darjeeling, 
for  a  second  journey,  and  we  only  took  with  us  sufficient 
food  and  supplies  for  three  and  a  half  months,  relying  on 
the  mules  going  back  and  returning  with  the  remainder  of 
the  stores  in  July  or  August.  Owing  to  the  camping  grounds 
being  small,  and  bungalow  accommodation  limited  on  the 
journey  across  Sikkim,  we  divided  ourselves  into  two  parties 
with  fifty  mules  and  twenty  coolies  in  each  party  ;  Wollaston, 
Wheeler,  Mallory  and  myself  being  with  the  first  party  and 
Raeburn,  Kellas,  Bullock  and  Heron  with  the  second. 

The  first  party  left  Darjeeling  on  May  18,  and  the  second 
party  the  following  day.  I  remained  behind  to  see  the 
second  party  off,  and  then  by  doing  a  double  march  I  caught 


FROM  DARJEELING  THROUGH  SIKKIM        29 

the  first  party  up  that  evening  at  Kalimpong,  not,  however, 
without  noticing  on  the  way  that  several  of  our  mules  were 
already  knocked  up.  The  night  before  we  started  rain 
came  down  in  torrents,  and  it  was  still  pouring  when  the 
mules  came  round  in  the  morning,  and  though  the  rain  stopped 
soon  afterwards  yet  the  hillsides  were  all  wreathed  in  soft 
grey  mists  and  every  moss-hung  branch  and  tree  dripped 
steadily  with  moisture  all  day  long.  The  first  day's  march 
from  Darjeeling  was  to  Peshoke — a  seventeen-mile  march 
and  down  hill  all  the  way  after  Ghoom.  From  Darjeeling 
we  gradually  ascended  some  500  feet  to  Ghoom  and  then 
for  6  miles  followed  the  well-engineered  cart  road  which 
leads  below  Senchal  to  the  new  miUtary  cantonment  of 
Takda  which  is,  I  believe,  about  to  be  abandoned,  as  the 
Gurkhas,  for  whom  it  was  built,  are  not  at  all  happy  there. 
During  the  war  it  was  used  as  a  German  internment  camp. 
Along  this  ridge  there  are  magnificent  forests  of  evergreen 
oaks,  all  of  which  were  covered  with  ferns  and  orchids  and 
long  trailing  mosses.  This  first  ridge  rising  straight  out  of 
the  plains  condenses  all  the  moisture-laden  winds  that  blow 
up  from  the  Bay  of  Bengal  and  causes  it  almost  always  to 
be  enveloped  in  clouds  and  mists.  The  path  now  rapidly 
descended  4,000  feet,  through  tea  plantations.  The  whole 
hillside  was  covered  with  tea  bushes,  neatly  planted  in  lines, 
and  showing  a  very  vivid  green  at  this  time  of  the  year. 
Here  and  there  grew  tall  tree  ferns,  20  feet  to  30  feet  in  height, 
their  stems  covered  with  ferns  and  Coelogene  orchids.  The 
air  was  now  growing  hotter  and  hotter  as  we  descended, 
but  the  wonderful  and  varied  vegetation,  the  beautiful  and 
brilliantl}^  coloured  butterflies — for  Avhich  the  Teesta  Valley 
is  famous — that  flitted  across  the  path  in  front  of  us,  proved 
an  irresistible  attraction,  and  made  us  forget  the  fact  that 
we  were  diipping  with  perspiration  from  every  pore.  We 
had  already  descended  nearly  5,000  feet  by  the  time  that 
we  reached  the  P.W.D.  bungalow  at  Peshoke,  which  was 
situated  in  a  clearing  in  the  forest.  We  were,  however, 
stiU  2,000  feet  above  the  muddy  Teesta  River  which  ran 


30       THE   NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

down  below  us  in  its  steamy  gorge,  and  the  next  morning 
saw  us  descending  2,000  feet  through  a  Sal  forest  by  a  slippery 
path  of  clay  leading  to  the  suspension  bridge  which  crosses 
the  mighty  river  that  with  its  affluents  drains  the  whole  of 
Sikkim.  It  rushes  along  with  uTesistible  force  in  mighty 
waves  and  rapids,  and  though  attempts  have  been  made 
to  float  timber  down  it  for  commercial  purposes,  yet  the 
current  is  too  swift  and  the  logs  were  aU  smashed  to  pieces. 
Here  at  the  bridge  we  were  only  700  feet  above  the  sea  and 
the  heat  was  intense.  Several  mules  had  been  left  exhausted 
at  Peshoke  and  had  been  unable  to  proceed  the  following 
day  and  several  more  only  just  reached  Kalimpong,  the 
second  day's  march,  only  12  miles  from  Peshoke,  but  the 
climb  of  3,300  feet  up  from  the  bridge  over  the  Teesta  in 
the  steamy  and  enervating  heat  proved  too  much  for 
them.  The  forests  here  were  very  beautiful — huge  sal 
trees  and  giant  terminalia  abounded  with  weird  and 
wonderful  creepers  embracing  their  stems,  or  hanging  down 
from  their  branches.  The  handsome  pothos — the  finest  of  the 
creepers — grew  everywhere.  The  curious  pandanus  or  screw 
pine  displayed  its  long  and  picturesque  fronds,  while  here 
and  there  among  the  dark  green  of  the  tropical  forest  showed 
up  as  a  briUiant  patch  of  colour  the  scarlet  blooms  of  the 
clerodendrons.  Above  the  forests  the  hillsides  had  been 
terraced  with  immense  labour  into  rice  fields,  which  at  this 
time  of  year  were  not  yet  planted  out,  but  the  fields  of  maize 
were  already  ripening.  At  Kalimpong  there  was  a  large 
and  comfortable  Dak  bungalow,  surrounded  by  a  well-kept 
garden  full  of  roses  and  scarlet  hibiscus  with  a  beautiful 
and  large-flowered  mauve  solanum  growing  up  the  pillars 
on  the  verandah.  At  Kalimpong  we  were  entertained  by 
Dr.  Graham  and  his  charming  daughters,  who  showed  us 
true  hospitality  and  kindness.  They  live  in  a  very  pretty 
house  embowered  in  roses  on  the  crest  of  the  hill  and 
commanding  lovely  views  over  the  Teesta  Valley  and  up 
to  the  snowy  peaks  of  Kanchenjunga.  Higlicr  up  on  the 
spur  are  the  homes  and  the  industrial  schools  that  many 


FROM  DARJEELING  THROUGH   SIKKIM        31 

years  of  hard  work  have  brought  into  being,  thanks  to  the 
indefatigable  labours  of  Dr.  Graham  and  the  late  Mrs. 
Graham  ;  these  now  hold  between  600  and  700  pupils,  both 
boys  and  girls,  who,  when  they  leave  these  schools,  have 
all  been  taught  some  useful  trade  and  are  sent  out  as  use- 
ful members  of  society.  They  are  given  as  practical  an 
education  as  could  be  wished  for  anywhere.  At  the 
Grahams'  house  I  met  David  Macdonald,  the  British  Trade 
Agent  at  Yatung,  who  was  acting  temporarily  as  political 
agent  in  Sikkim  until  Major  Bailey  arrived  from  England. 
He  was  an  old  friend  of  mine,  as  I  had  met  him  before  in 
Tibet.  He  promised  us  every  assistance  in  his  power  and 
had  telegraphed  to  Yatung  and  to  the  Jongpen  at  Phari 
to  have  supplies  and  anything  we  wanted  in  readiness  at 
those  places.  He  told  me  that  an  old  Tibetan  Lama,  who 
knew  Mount  Everest  well,  had  described  it  as  "  Miti  guti 
cha-phu  long-nga,"  "  the  mountain  visible  from  all  directions, 
and  where  a  bird  becomes  bhnd  if  it  flies  so  high."  Through- 
out our  journey  across  Sikkim  the  weather  was  very  bad, 
with  heavy  falls  of  rain  every  day  and  night.  We  had  had 
the  bad  luck  to  strike  the  Chota  Bursat,  or  Httle  monsoon, 
which  usually  heralds  the  coming  of  the  proper  monsoon  a 
fortnight  or  tliree  weeks  later. 

The  march  to  Pedong  was  an  easy  one  of  14  miles  with 
a  gentle  climb  of  3,000  feet  followed  by  a  descent  of  2,000 
feet  past  gardens  beautiful  with  their  great  trees  of  scarlet 
hibiscus,  daturas  and  bougainvilleas,  which  grew  with 
wonderful  luxuriance  in  this  climate  where  frost  is  almost 
unknown  in  winter  and  where  in  summer  the  temperature 
scarcely  ever  exceeds  85°  Fahrenheit.  We  passed  some  of 
the  most  wonderful  datura  hedges  that  I  have  ever  seen 
with  trees  15  feet  to  20  feet  in  height  and  laden  with  hundreds 
of  enormous  white  trumpet-shaped  blooms  8  inches  in 
diameter  and  fully  a  foot  long.  I  could  only  stand  and 
admire.  At  night  these  great  white  flowers  glowed  as  though 
with  phosphorescence  in  the  dark  and  had  a  strangely  sweet 
smell.     I  got  thoroughly  soaked  on  the  march,  for  a  couple 


32       THE   NARRATIVE   OF   THE   EXPEDITION 

of  minutes  of  these  deluges  are  sufficient  to  go  through  any 
waterproof. 

Our  mules  were  now  beginning  to  give  us  great  trouble. 
Several  had  to  be  left  behind  after  each  march  and  fresh 
animals  had  to  be  hired  locally  to  replace  those  left  behind. 
At  Pedong  there  were  more  wonderful  daturas,  and  all 
along  the  next  march  we  kept  passing  grand  bushes  of  these 
flowers.  It  rained  all  that  night  and  most  of  the  following 
day,  so  that  we  had  a  very  wet  and  trying  march  to  Rongli 
— the  distance  was  only  12  miles,  but  this  included  a  very 
steep  descent  of  over  3,000  feet  to  the  bottom  of  a  steamy 
valley,  followed  by  a  climb  of  3,000  feet  across  an  intervening 
ridge  and  then  down  another  2,000  feet  to  the  Rongli 
bungalow.  The  poor  mules  were  very  tired  by  the  end  of 
the  march  and  one  had  died  of  colic  on  the  way.  Most 
of  the  others  too  were  getting  very  sore  backs  from  the 
constant  rain.  On  the  way  WoUaston  and  I  stopped  at 
Rhenock  to  have  a  look  at  the  Chandra  Nursery  kept  by 
Tulsi  Dass,  where  there  were  many  interesting  plants,  chiefly 
collected  in  the  Sikkim  forests.  There  was  a  tree  growing 
everywhere  in  the  forests  with  a  white  flower  which  Sikkim 
people  called  Chilauni,  and  all  along  the  paths  the  Sikkim 
durbar  had  been  busy  planting  mulberry,  walnut  and  toon 
trees.  There  was  a  curious  pink  ground  plant  that  grew  in 
the  forests  which  I  was  told  belonged  to  the  Amomum  species. 
There  were  also  beautiful  orchids  in  the  trees,  mauve,  white 
and  yellow,  belonging  to  the  Dendrobium,  Coelogene  and 
Cymbidium  families — some  with  fine  sprays  of  flowers  18 
inches  long.  Here  at  Rongli  the  mules  were  so  tired  that 
we  had  to  give  them  a  day's  rest  before  they  could  go  on 
any  further.  It  was  a  hot  and  feverish  spot  to  stop  in, 
and  only  necessity  compelled  us  to  do  so,  as  we  were  unable 
to  get  any  extra  transport  the  following  morning  to 
supplement   the   mules   that   were   sick. 

All  that  day  we  had  passed  numbers  of  mules  coming 
down  from  Tibet  laden  with  bales  of  wool,  and  others  were 
returning  to  Tibet  with  sheets  of  copper,  manufactured  goods, 


FROM  DARJEELING  THROUGH   SIKKIM        33 

grain  and  rice  which  had  been  bought  in  exchange.  The 
dark  faces  of  the  muleteers  with  their  turquoise  earrings 
formed  a  pretty  picture  and  they  were  full  of  friendly  smiles 
and  greetings  for  us.  The  mules  travelled  on  their  own — 
if  any  mule  stopped  on  the  path,  a  stone  always  aimed  with 
the  greatest  accuracy  reminded  him  that  it  was  time  to 
go  on.  Owing  to  our  having  to  halt  a  day  at  Rongli,  we  had 
to  stop  the  second  party,  and  were  able  to  do  this  at  Ari, 
a  bungalow  3  miles  short  of  Rongli.  I  rode  up  to  see 
how  they  were  getting  on,  and  found  they  were  having  the 
same  trouble  with  their  mules  that  we  had  been  having. 
On  May  23  we  left  for  Sedongchen,  or  Padamchen  as  the 
Tibetans  called  it.  Sedongchen  is  the  old  local  name, 
so-called  because  there  once  grew  there  a  very  large 
"  Sedong  "  tree.  This  is  a  tree  that  has  a  white  sap  which 
irritates  the  skin  intensely  and  sets  up  a  rash.  Sedongchen 
was  only  9  miles  from  Rongli,  but  there  was  a  very  steep 
climb,  from  2,700  feet  up  to  7,000  feet,  and  our  mules  only 
just  managed  to  arrive  there.  The  first  part  of  the  way 
is  alongside  the  rushing  stream  of  the  Rongli,  through 
lovely  woods  and  dense  tropical  vegetation.  Caladiums, 
kolocasias  and  begonias  were  growing  on  every  rock,  and 
the  giant  pothos  with  its  large  shining  leaves  grew  up  the 
stems  of  many  of  the  trees.  Climbers  of  all  kinds,  such  as 
vines  and  peppers,  hung  down  from  the  branches.  Here,  too, 
were  magnificent  forest  trees,  fully  150  feet  high,  with  clean 
straight  trunks  and  without  a  branch  for  a  hundred  feet ; 
others  nearly  equally  tall,  which  the  Sikkim  people  call 
"  Panisage,"  had  huge  buttresses  and  trunks  nearly  40  feet 
in  circumference.  Every  branch  here  was  covered  by  thick 
matted  growth  of  orchids.  For  the  first  time  since  leaving 
Darjeeling  the  sun  shone,  and  after  we  left  the  forests  we 
found  the  uphill  climb  very  hot.  On  to-day's  march, 
out  of  the  fifty  mules  with  which  we  started  there  were  only 
fourteen  carrying  our  own  kit,  and  of  those  fourteen  we 
found  on  arrival  at  Sedongchen  that  none  would  be  fit  to 
proceed  on  the  following  day.     It  was  therefore  with  great 

M.E.  D 


34       THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE  EXPEDITION 

reluctance  that  I  felt  compelled  to  send  back  the  Govern- 
ment mules,  as  they  could  not  only  not  carry  their  own  line 
gear,  but  had  become  an  extra  and  very  large  source  of 
expense  and  worry  to  us.  That  the  mules  should  have 
completely  broken  down  Hke  this  after  a  five  days'  march 
showed  that  they  must  have  been  in  no  kind  of  training 
and  condition  and  were  completely  unfitted  for  heavy  work 
in  the  mountains.  The  hill  ponies  and  mules  that  we  had 
hired  to  supplement  them,  although  they  had  been  given 
the  heaviest  loads,  always  arrived  first,  and  made  nothing 
of  each  march.  By  this  failure  of  the  Government  transport 
we  were  now  thrown  back  on  our  own  resources,  and  obliged 
to  depend  everywhere  on  what  local  transport  we  could 
obtain,  and  this  often  took  some  time  to  collect. 

At  Sedongchen  there  was  a  pleasant  bungalow,  rather 
Swiss  in  appearance,  with  fine  views  down  the  Rongli  Valley 
and  across  all  the  forest  ridges  over  which  we  had  come, 
right  back  to  Darjeeling.  Opposite  us,  to  the  South-east, 
were  densely  wooded  hills  with  clouds  and  mists  drifting  along 
the  tops,  while  here  and  there  a  waterfall  showed  up  white 
amidst  the  dark  green  vegetation. 

Rain  came  down  steadily  all  night,  but  the  morning 
proved  somewhat  finer.  Being  on  the  main  trade  route, 
we  were  luckily  able  to  get  other  transport  to  replace  the 
Government  mules  and  to  arrange  for  hired  mules  as  far 
as  Yatung.  The  local  animal  is  a  wonderful  beast,  extremely 
sure  footed,  and  not  minding  in  the  least  a  climb  of  6,000 
feet.  The  path  from  Sedongchen  is  really  only  a  stone 
causeway,  very  slippery  and  unpleasant  either  to  walk  or 
ride  upon,  but  probably  anything  else  would  be  worn  away 
by  the  torrential  rains  that  fall  here.  At  one  place  we 
had  to  make  a  wide  detour,  as  the  rain  of  the  night  before 
had  washed  away  some  hundred  yards  of  the  pathway, 
but  luckily  this  was  not  in  a  very  steep  part,  as  otherwise 
we  might  have  been  delayed  for  several  days.  The  constant 
rain  had  already  brought  out  the  leeches,  and  on  most 
of  the  stones  or  blades  of  grass  beside  the  path  they  sat 


FROM  DARJEELING   THROUGH   SIKKIM        35 

waiting  for  their  meal  of  blood  and  clung  on  to  any  mule 
or  human  being  that  passed  by.  The  mules  suffered  severely, 
and  drops  of  blood  on  the  stones  became  frequent  from 
the  bleeding  wounds. 

The  climb  from  Sedongchen  to  Gnatong  was  very  steep 
with  a  rise  of  over  5,000  feet  in  the  first  5  miles,  and  we 
soon  got  out  of  the  zone  of  the  leeches  and  on  to  the  most 
wonderful  zone  of  flowering  rhododendi^ons.  The  rhodo- 
dendrons in  the  lower  forest  chiefly  consisted  of  R.  Argenteum 
and  E,  Falconeri.  These  grew  in  a  great  forest  of  oaks  and 
magnolias,  all  covered  with  beautiful  ferns  among  which 
showed  up  delightful  mauve  or  white  orchids.  The  lower 
rhododendrons  had  already  flowered,  but  as  we  got  higher 
we  found  masses  of  R.  Cinnabarinum,  with  flowers  showing 
every  shade  of  orange  and  red.  Then  came  rhododendi'ons 
of  every  colour— pink,  deep  crimson,  yellow,  mauve,  white 
or  cream  coloured.  It  was  impossible  to  imagine  anything 
more  beautiful,  and  every  yard  of  the  path  was  a  pure 
delight.  Among  the  smaller  flowers  were  the  large  pink 
saxifrage,  while  the  deep  reddish-purple  primula  covered 
every  open  space.  There  was  also  a  very  tiny  pink  primula 
— the  smallest  I  have  ever  seen — and  another  one  like  a 
pink  primrose,  that  grew  on  the  banks  above  the  path. 
We  went  along  quite  slowly  all  the  way,  botanising  and 
admiring  the  scenery.  The  path  mostly  led  along  the  top 
of  a  ridge,  and  the  views  and  colours  of  the  many-hued 
rhododendrons  in  the  gullies  on  either  side  were  very  delight- 
ful. Gnatong,  where  we  were  to  spend  the  night,  was  a  very 
small  and  rather  dirty  village  lying  in  a  hollow  and  sur- 
rounded by  grassy  hills.  The  fir  trees  {Abies  Webbiana) 
no  longer  surrounded  it,  as  those  anywhere  near  had  been 
cut  down  for  firewood,  or  for  building  houses.  From  here 
I  was  able  to  telephone  to  Mr.  Isaacs,  Mr.  Macdonald's 
head  clerk  at  Yatung,  to  ask  him  to  make  arrangements 
for  ponies  and  mules  for  us  both  at  Yatung  and  at  Phari 
now  that  our  transport  had  broken  down.  Wonderful 
rumours   seemed    to    have    preceded    our    advent.     Stories 


36       THE   NARRATIVE   OF   THE   EXPEDITION 

that  we  were  coming  with  1,000  mules  and  500  men  seemed 
to  have  been  spread  about  in  Tibet. 

Gnatong  is  a  most  depressing  place,  and  only  owes  its 
existence  to  the  fact  that  it  is  the  first  stopping  place  for 
the  caravans  that  cross  over  the  Jelep  Pass  on  the  British 
side  of  the  frontier.  Rain  always  falls  there,  the  rainfall 
in  the  year  being  nearly  200  inches,  and  when  rain  does 
not  faU  the  place  is  enveloped  in  mist,  with  the  result  that 
the  mud  was  horrible.  It  poured  with  rain  aU  the  time 
that  we  were  there  and  we  left  again  in  heavy  rain  for  the 
Jelep  Pass  8  miles  distant.  We  were  already  over  12,000 
feet  when  we  started,  and  the  top  of  the  pass  was  14,390 
feet,  so  that  it  was  not  a  very  serious  chmb.  There  was 
no  view  of  any  kind  to  be  had  as  the  rain  fell  steadily  all 
the  way  and  the  hillsides  were  all  veiled  in  mist.  We  had 
occasional  glimpses  of  a  hillside  pink,  white  or  yellow  with 
rhododendrons,  which  now  grew  only  about  5  feet  high. 
I  counted  six  or  seven  different  varieties  of  primulas  on  the 
way,  but  near  the  top  there  was  still  plenty  of  the  old  winter 
snow  lying  about  and  the  Alpine  flowers  were  scarcely  out. 
A  big  heap  of  stones  marked  the  summit  of  the  pass  and 
the  frontier  between  Sikkim  and  Tibet,  and  a  few  sticks, 
to  which  were  attached  strings  covered  with  small  pieces 
of  rag  on  which  were  inscribed  prayers,  fluttered  out  in 
the  strong  wind  that  always  blows  up  there.  In  the  cold 
rain  this  was  not  a  cheerful  spot  to  linger  in,  so  we  hurried 
on  down  a  steep  and  stony  path  and  after  descending  a  few 
hundred  feet  emerged  out  of  the  mist  and  rain  and  obtained 
gUmpses  of  a  really  blue  sky  such  as  we  had  not  seen  for 
weeks.     We  had  arrived  at  last  in  Tibet. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE   CHUMBI   VALLEY  AND   THE   TIBETAN 

PLATEAU 

The  range  of  mountains  which  here  forms  the  boundary 
between  Sikkim  and  Tibet  runs  nearly  North  and  South, 
and  the  two  main  passes  across  it  are  the  Jelep  La  and 
the  Nathu  La,  the  latter  being  a  few  miles  to  the  North 
of  the  Jelep  La  and  about  the  same  height.  The  Jelep  La 
being  the  main  trade  route  across  which  the  telegraph  line 
runs,  and  over  which  the  postal  runners  travel,  is  kept  open 
all  the  year  round,  though  often  after  a  heavy  blizzard  it 
is  closed  for  ten  days  or  a  fortnight.  On  the  Sikkim  side 
the  snow-fall  is  always  the  heaviest ;  this  range  of  mountains 
stops  most  of  the  moist  currents  that  drive  up  from  the 
Bay  of  Bengal,  with  the  result  that  the  rainfall  in  the  Chumbi 
Valley  on  the  Tibetan  side  is  only  about  a  quarter  of  what 
it  is  at  Gnatong  on  the  Sikkim  side. 

The  descent  into  the  Chumbi  Valley  was  very  steep 
and  stony,  as  there  was  a  drop  of  over  5,000  feet  from  the 
top  of  the  pass.  The  beauty  of  the  valley  and  its  wild  flowers 
made  up,  however,  for  the  badness  of  the  path.  The  rhodo- 
dendrons on  the  descent  were  extremely  fine,  and  the  whole 
character  of  the  vegetation  was  altered  and  became  more 
European.  The  great  pink  rhododendron  Aucklandi  showed 
up  splendidly  in  the  dark  forests  of  silver  fir  {A.  Webhiana) 
which  here  grows  into  a  fine  tree.  There  was  also  the  yellow 
rhododendron  Campylocarpum  and  a  white  rhododendron, 
probably  Decorum ;  the  beautiful  R.  Cinnaharinum  with 
its  orange  bells  of  waxy  flowers  relieved  the  darkness  of  the 
firs.  There  was  a  small  Tibetan  rest-house  called  Langra 
where  our  coolies  wanted  to  stop,  but  we  pushed  on  past 

37 

54144 


38       THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

this  and  descended  steeply  through  more  wonderful  forests. 
As  we  got  lower  we  found  birch,  sycamore,  willow  and  elder 
stiU  clothed  in  the  light  green  of  early  spring.  A  fine  white 
clematis,  a  pink  and  white  spiraea,  a  yellow  berberis,  white 
roses  and  the  dark  purple  iris  grew  in  profusion  on  either 
side  of  the  path.  Underneath  these  were  the  smaU  flowers 
of  the  wild  strawberry,  which  the  Macdonald  family 
collected  later  on  in  the  year  and  made  into  jam  in  great 
quantities. 

Near  the  entrance  to  this  side  valley  we  came  to  Old 
Yatung  with  its  Chinese  custom-house  and  wall  built  right 
across  the  vaUey  to  keep  the  British  from  going  any  further. 
All  this  was  now  deserted  and  in  ruins.  Soon  afterwards 
we  arrived  in  the  main  Chumbi  VaUey  where  were  broad 
fields  filled  with  potatoes  and  ripening  barley.  The  houses 
here  were  mostly  built  of  stone  and  wood  and  in  two  stories. 
In  character  they  much  resembled  Tkolese  houses  except 
for  the  elaborate  carving  over  the  doors  and  windows  and 
the  many  colours  in  which  they  were  painted.  We  passed 
through  the  prosperous  villages  of  Richengong,  Phema  and 
Chumbi  before  arriving  at  New  Yatung,  or  Shassi  as  the 
Tibetans  still  prefer  to  call  it.  Here  was  a  comfortable 
bungalow  overlooking  the  bazaar  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river.  Knowing  that  we  had  had  a  long  and  tmng  march 
and  that  our  coolies  would  only  arrive  late  that  night,  Mrs. 
Macdonald  had  with  much  thoughtfulness  sent  over  her 
servants  who  had  tea  and  dinner  prepared  for  us  on  a  generous 
scale.  No  attention  could  have  been  more  acceptable.  It 
ramed  steadily  all  that  night — a  somewhat  unusual  occurrence 
in  this  valley — but  the  next  morning  it  cleared  up  and  the 
day  was  delightful. 

The  Chumbi  Valley  is  one  of  the  richest  valleys  in  Tibet. 
Yatung  lies  at  a  hciglit  of  9,400  feet.  Apples  and  pears 
do  well  here,  and  barley,  wheat  and  potatoes  are  grown 
in  great  quantities.  At  this  time  of  the  year  the  air  is  scented 
by  the  wild  roses  which  grow  in  large  bushes  covered  with 
hundreds   of   cream-coloured   and   sweetly   scented   flowers. 


THE   CHUMBI  VALLEY  39 

The  villages  all  look  extremely  prosperous  and  an  air  of 
peace  and  contentment  seems  to  pervade  the  valley.  We 
had  to  hire  a  new  lot  of  animals  to  take  us  on  to  Phari — 
28  miles  further  up  the  Chumbi  Valley.  These  all  arrived 
in  good  time,  and  by  eight  o'clock  on  May  27  our  loads 
were  all  on  their  way.  Before  leaving,  I  sent  off  a  telegram 
to  Sir  Francis  Younghusband  to  announce  the  arrival  of 
the  Expedition  in  Tibet,  a  telegram  which  arrived  opportunely 
at  the  Anniversary  Dinner  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society, 
just  at  the  commencement  of  dinner. 

There  is  a  small  garrison  at  Yatung,  consisting  of  twenty- 
five  men  of  the  73rd  Carnatics.  There  was  also  a  hospital 
and  a  supply  depot  from  which  we  were  able  to  purchase 
sugar,  flour,  ata  (coarse  native  flour)  and  potatoes,  while 
later  on  we  were  able  to  send  back  to  it  for  further  supplies. 
We  formed  quite  an  imposing  procession  as  we  started  off  : 
WoUaston  and  myself  on  our  ponies,  Gyalzen  Kazi  and 
Chheten  Wangdi,  our  interpreters,  on  their  ponies  which 
they  had  brought  along  with  them.  There  was  Mr.  Isaacs, 
the  head  clerk,  with  a  red-coated  chaprassi  and  a  syce  also 
mounted,  who  accompanied  us  on  a  visit  to  two  monasteries 
further  up  the  valley.  The  path  followed  close  to  the  banks 
of  the  Ammo-chu,  which  was  now  a  clear  stream  and  contained 
many  a  likely  pool  for  fish.  The  valley  was  full  of  delightful 
flowers  ;  curious  ground  orchids,  with  several  beautiful  varieties 
of  the  ladies'  slipper  grew  there ;  the  wild  roses,  especially 
the  large  red  one,  were  very  sweet-scented  and  filled  the  air 
with  fragrance.  Berberis,  clematis  and  some  charming  dwarf 
rhododendrons  abounded.  After  going  about  3  miles  the 
valley  narrowed,  and  we  passed  the  spot  where  the  Chmese 
had  built  another  wall  across  the  valley  to  keep  us  out. 
Just  above  this  wall  there  was  a  deserted  Chinese  village, 
for  now  all  the  Chinese  have  been  di^iven  out  of  the  country 
and  are  not  allowed  to  go  back  and  live  there.  High  above 
us  on  the  hillside  was  the  Punagang  Monastery  belonging 
to  the  old  sect  of  the  Bhompo's,  who  turn  then*  prayer 
wheels  the  opposite  to  every  one  else  and  always  keep  to 


40       THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

the  right  of  Chortens  and  Mani  walls.  This  monastery  was 
too  far  ofE  the  path  for  us  to  visit  it.  We  soon  afterwards 
passed  the  large  and  flourishing  village  of  Galinka  surrounded 
by  fields  of  barley.  Here  we  turned  aside  to  visit  the  Galinka 
Monastery,  which  stood  in  the  midst  of  the  viUage.  This 
was  quite  a  new  building,  with  a  great  gilt  image  of  Buddha 
inside  it.  The  monks  were  still  busy  painting  pictures  of 
scenes  from  the  life  of  Buddha  on  the  walls.  They  apparently 
did  quite  a  good  trade  in  selling  clay  images  of  Buddha 
in  his  different  forms  and  postures.  These  were  stamped 
by  a  very  well  cut  brass  die,  which  the  monks  told  me  had 
been  made  at  Shigatse.  In  a  side  room  was  a  huge  prayer  wheel 
some  12  feet  high  and  5  feet  to  6  feet  in  diameter.  It  was 
covered  over  with  painted  leather  inscribed  with  the  usual 
Om  Mani  Padme  Hum  (Hail,  jewel  of  the  lotus  flower). 
They  told  us  the  inside  was  also  filled  with  prayers,  and  that 
it  contained  one  and  a  half  million  of  these,  so  that  each 
time  the  wheel  was  turned  a  million  and  a  half  prayers 
were  said  for  the  person  who  turned  it.  After  each  complete 
revolution  it  rings  a  bell.  We  were  allowed  to  turn  it  several 
times,  so  that  I  hope  the  many  million  prayers  sent  up  may 
benefit  us.  After  leaving  the  monastery,  the  path  rose 
steeply  and  the  river  came  down  in  a  series  of  waterfalls. 
Above  us  were  masses  of  pink  and  mauve  rhododendrons, 
flowering  cherries,  viburnum,  berberis,  roses  and  other 
delightful  shrubs.  Soon  afterwards,  at  the  entrance  to 
the  Lingmatang  plain,  we  crossed  the  river  and  rode  up 
a  rocky  spur  formed  of  great  boulders  that  had  some  time 
or  another  fallen  down  and  blocked  up  the  valley,  forming 
a  lake  some  2  miles  long,  but  this  lake  no  longer  existed, 
and  there  was  only  a  flat  grassy  plain  grazed  over  by  yaks 
and  ponies.  On  the  top  of  the  spur  was  the  Donka  Monastery 
in  a  grand  situation,  commanding  beautiful  views  up  and 
down  the  valley.  I  had  hoped  to  see  my  friend  the  Geshe 
Lama  or  Geshe  Rimpoche,  as  he  is  sometimes  known,  with 
whom  I  had  lunched  last  year  at  the  hot  springs  at  Kambu, 
but  unfortunately  he  was  away  at  Lhasa.     He  is  a  man  of 


THE   CHUMBI  VALLEY  41 

very  great  learning  and  held  in  high  veneration  throughout 
these  valleys. 

On  entering  the  big  stone  courtyard  of  the  monastery 
a  crowd  of  children  and  Lamas  at  once  flocked  round  us. 
We  were  shown  over  the  main  temple,  but  it  was  badly 
lit  with  a  few  butter  lamps  and  we  could  see  little  of  its 
contents  ;  amongst  these  were  several  statues  of  Buddha 
under  his  different  forms.  There  were  also  kept  there  108 
volumes  of  the  Tangyur,  one  of  the  Buddhist  sacred  writings. 
These  books  were  very  curious.  Each  volume  consisted 
of  a  number  of  loose  oblong  parchment  sheets  2  to  3  feet 
long  and  from  8  inches  to  a  foot  wide.  These  were  kept 
together  by  two  elaborately  carved  boards  between  which 
they  were  pressed.  The  writing  was  all  done  by  hand  by  the 
Lamas,  who  copied  out  and  illuminated  books  with  the 
greatest  care  and  skill  in  the  same  manner  that  the  monks 
in  the  Middle  Ages  illuminated  their  missals.  The  book- 
shelves of  the  library  consisted  of  a  number  of  pigeon-holes 
in  the  walls  in  which  these  volumes  were  kept.  Here,  too, 
they  were  busy  making  clay  images  to  bury  under  the  Chorten 
that  they  were  building  above  the  monastery.  Next  door 
was  another  and  newer  temple,  built  to  house  the  Oracle, 
and  called  the  Sanctuary  of  the  Oracle.  He,  too,  was 
unfortunately  away,  as  he  was  taking  the  hot  waters  at 
Kambu,  but  we  were  shown  his  throne  and  the  robes  that 
he  puts  on  when  he  prophesies.  There  was  a  curiously 
shaped  head-dress  of  silver,  adorned  all  round  with  silver 
skulls,  and  a  very  quaintly  shaped  bow  and  arrow  which 
the  Oracle  held  in  one  hand  while  a  huge  trident  was  grasped 
in  the  other.  I  am  told  that  he  is  consulted  far  and  wide  and 
has  a  great  reputation  for  truth.  We  were  then  taken  upstairs 
to  a  sunny  verandah,  just  outside  the  Geshe  Rimpoche's 
private  room  and  commanding  fine  views  up  and  down  the 
valley.  Here  we  were  given  Tibetan  tea,  made  with  salt 
and  butter,  and  served  up  in  agate  cups  with  beautifully 
chased  silver  covers.  After  drinking  this  tea  we  were  shown 
over  the  Geshe's  private  apartments  and  chapel,  the  prevailing 


42       THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

colour  scheme  of  the  room  being  yeUow.  The  Httle  shrines 
with  their  silver  bowls  in  front— the  incense  burner  and  the 
flame  that  is  never  allowed  to  go  out — were  all  very  interesting 
to  us.  We  then  took  a  photograph  of  the  Lamas  in  front 
of  their  temple,  after  which  the  head  Lama  accompanied 
us  some  way  down  the  path  to  say  good-bye,  hoping  we 
would  come  and  see  them  again  on  our  return. 

I  have  alluded  several  times  to  the  hot  springs  at  Kambu. 
These  springs  are  two  days'  journey  from  Yatung  up  the 
Kambu  Valley,  but  can  also  be  reached  quite  easily  from 
Phari.  There  is  a  curious  account  of  these  springs  written 
by  an  old  Lama  and  translated  by  Major  Campbell.  The 
writer  describes  the  Upper  Kambu  Valley  as  quite  a  pleasant 
spot  where  cooling  streams  and  medicinal  plants  are  found 
in  abundance.  Medicinal  waters  of  five  kinds  flow  from 
the  rocks,  forming  twelve  pools,  the  waters  of  which  are 
efficacious  in  curing  the  440  diseases  to  which  the  human 
race  is  subject.  The  springs  are  then  made  to  describe  their 
own  quaUties  in  the  first  person  : — 

1.  The  Lhamo  Spring  (The  Spring  of  the  Goddess)  :  My  virtue  is 
derived  from  the  essence  of  stone — I  am  guarded  by  the  Goddess  Tsering, 
and  my  vu-tue  therefore  consists  in  purging  the  sins  and  obscurities  of 
the  human  body.  Those  who  bathe  first  in  my  waters  will  be  purged  of 
all  sin  and  the  j)ower  of  all  diseases  will  be  abated. 

2.  The  Chagu  Spring  (The  Spring  of  the  Vulture)  :  My  virtue  is  derived 
from  black  sulphur.  As  regards  my  properties,  a  vulture  with  a  broken 
wing  once  fell  into  my  waters  and  was  healed.  I  benefit  diseases  of  women, 
also  sores,  gout  and  fractures.  I  possess  particular  virtue  for  all  diseases 
below  the  waist.  I  do  not  benefit  neuralgia,  nervous  diseases,  or  loss  of 
appetite. 

3  and  4.  The  Pon  Springs  (The  Springs  of  the  Official)  :  We  two  brothers 
derive  our  properties  from  both  yellow  and  black  sulphur.  One  of  us 
provokes  catarrh,  while  the  other  allays  it.  A  learned  man,  who  wished 
us  well,  once  said  that  we  were  beneficial  in  cases  of  hemorrhoids,  kidney 
diseases  and  rheumatism.  We  are  not  aware  of  jjossessing  these  qualities, 
and  rather  tend  to  cause  harm  in  such  cases. 

6.  The  Traggye  Spring  (The  Spring  born  of  the  Rock)  :  My  virtue 
is  derived  from  a  combination  of  sulphur  and  the  essence  of  stone.  I  was 
formerly  efficacious  in  cases  of  diseases  of  tlie  aiteries  and  nerve  trouble, 
but  later  on  the  Brothers  of  the  Pon  Spring  rushed  down  on  poor  me  like 
tjrrants  so  that  no  one  now  regards  me.     The  caretaker  of  the  Springs 


THE   CHUMBI  VALLEY  43 

and  visitors  treats  me  like  a  beggar  and  pays  no  attention  to  me.  Even 
now  if  some  person  with  the  permission  of  the  Brothers  of  the  Pon  Spring 
would  carry  out  some  repairs,  so  as  to  separate  my  waters  from  theirs,  I 
would  guarantee  to  benefit  those  sufifering  from  arterial  diseases,  nerve 
trouble,  impurities  of  the  blood  and  bile. 

6.  The  Serka  Spring  (The  Spring  of  the  Crevice)  :  My  virtues  are 
derived  from  sulj)hur  and  carbon.  I  am  not  beneficial  to  those  suffering 
from  ailments  arising  from  nerve  trouble,  bile  and  acidity.  I  am  beneficial 
to  those  suffering  from  chapped  hands  and  feet  due  to  hard  work  among 
earth  and  stones  and  also  in  cases  of  diseases  of  the  kidneys  and  bladder, 
I  am  somewhat  hurtful  to  those  suffering  from  headache  arising  from 
nervous  catarrh,  or  impurities  of  the  blood. 

7.  The  Tang  Spring  (The  Spring  of  the  Plain) :  My  virtues  are  derived 
from  carbon  and  a  little  sulj^hur.  I  am  beneficial  in  cases  of  hemorrhoids, 
kidney  disease,  rheumatism  and  other  diseases  below  the  waist,  also  in 
cases  of  venereal  disease.  There  is  a  danger  of  the  waist  becoming  bent 
like  a  bow  through  too  much  bathing  in  my  waters. 

8.  The  Traggyab  Spring  (The  Spring  behind  the  Rock)  :  I  am  beneficial 
in  cases  of  disease  of  the  arteries  and  anaemia — I  am  not  aware  that  I  am 
harmful  in  other  cases. 

9.  The  Tongbu  Spring  (The  Spring  of  the  Hole)  :  My  virtues  are 
derived  from  a  large  proj^ortion  of  crystalline  stone  and  a  little  sulphur. 
I  guarantee  to  be  beneficial  in  cases  of  white  phlegm,  bro\^Ti  phlegm  and 
other  forms  of  phlegmatic  disease.  Also  in  diseases  arising  out  of  these, 
and  in  cases  of  impurities  of  the  blood  and  colic  pains.  Please  bear  this 
in  mind. 

10.  The  Nub  (The  Western  Spring)  :  My  virtues  are  derived  from  a 
little  carbon.  I  am  beneficial  in  cases  of  liver  disease,  impurities  of  the 
blood,  flatulence,  kidney  disease,  dyspepsia,  brown  phlegm,  tumours,  gout, 
rheumatism,  gleet,  and  complications  arising  from  these.  I  do  not  boast 
in  the  way  that  the  other  Springs  do. 

1 1 .  The  Dzepo  Spring  (The  Leper's  Spring)  :  I  am  cousin  to  the  Western 
Spring.  He  guarantees  to  cure  diseases  arising  from  two  or  three  causes, 
also  kidney  disease,  flat  foot,  rheumatism  and  gout.  I  am  beneficial  in 
cases  of  hemorrhoids,  gout,  rheumatism  and  diseases  of  the  feet.  I  possess 
particular  virtue  in  cases  of  leprosy,  sores  and  wounds. 

12.  The  Lama  Spring  (The  Spring  of  the  Lama)  :  My  virtues  are 
derived  from  a  large  proportion  of  lime  and  a  little  sulphur.  I  am  beneficial 
in  cases  of  lung  disease,  tumours,  dyspepsia,  both  chronic  and  recent, 
poverty  of  the  blood  and  venereal  diseases. 

Written  by  Tsewang  in  the  hope  that  the  People  of 
Bhutan,  Sikkim,  and  the  surrounding  country  \\t:ll  bear  this 
in  mind. 

Copied  by  Tenrab,  clearly  and  exactly,  from  the  original 
in  the  Male  Iron  Dog  Year  in  the  first  half  of  the  Earth 
Month. 


44       THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

After  leaving  the  monastery  we  had  a  pleasant  gallop 
across  the  Lmgmatang  Plain,  after  which  the  valley  narrowed 
again  and  the  path  followed  close  beside  the  rushing  stream. 
It  was  a  delightful  ride  through  forests  of  birch,  larch,  juniper, 
spruce,  silver  fir  and  mountain  ash.  Never  anywhere  have  I 
seen  birch  trees  grow  to  such  a  size.  They  were  grand  rugged 
old  trees  that  matched  the  rugged  scenery  of  the  gorge. 
Blue  poppies,  fritiUaries,  ground  orchids  and  sweet-scented 
primulas  grew  along  the  path,  and  mixed  up  everjrwhere 
in  the  forest  were  great  bushes  of  R.  Cinnaharinum,  which 
varied  in  shade  from  yellow  and  orange  to  deep  red. 
Wagtails  and  white-crested  redstarts  dodged  about  from  rock 
to  rock  in  the  rushing  stream,  and  the  clear  note  of  the 
shrike  could  usually  be  heard  above  the  noise  of  the  waters. 
The  weather  had  luckily  kept  fine  aU  day,  so  that  we  were 
able  to  dawdle  along  and  enjoy  the  scenery  and  flowers. 

After  going  about  12  miles  we  came  to  the  bungalow  of 
Gautsa,  situated  at  a  height  of  about  12,000  feet,  and  at 
the  bottom  of  the  gorge  ;  here  we  spent  the  night.  During 
the  night  there  was  heavy  rain,  and  when  we  woke  in  the 
morning,  fresh  snow  was  low  down  on  all  the  hills  and  within 
1,500  feet  of  the  bungalow.  However,  the  day  again  proved 
brilliantly  fine.  For  breakfast  we  had  been  given  some 
large  wild-goose  eggs  belonging  to  the  bar-headed  goose. 
Mine  I  had  boiled,  and  found  excellent,  though  one  was 
sufficient  for  a  meal.  Two  that  the  others  had  were  rather 
passe,  and  were  not  equally  appreciated.  The  day's  path 
was  at  first  very  stony  and  climbed  steadily  uphill  beside 
the  torrent  of  the  Ammochu.  Pale  blue  iris,  yellow  primulas, 
a  pink  viburnum  and  a  large  yellow-belled  lonicera  grew 
beside  the  path,  but  the  rhododendrons  were  still  by  far 
the  most  wonderful  of  the  flowering  shrubs.  We  passed 
many  big  blue  meconopsis,  and  some  of  these  flowers  measured 
fully  3  inches  across.  Dwarf  rhododendrons,  only  a  foot 
high — some  pure  white  and  others  pink,  continued  up  until 
about  13,500  feet,  and  then  the  hillsides  became  purple 
from    another    little    rhododendron,    which    looked    in    the 


THE   CHUMBI   VALLEY  45 

distance  like  heather  and  gave  the  rounded  hills  quite  a 
Scotch  appearance.  As  we  rose  higher  the  flowers  decreased 
in  number.  Larks  and  wheatears  ran  along  the  ground  in 
front  of  us,  and  small  tailless  marmot  rats  dodged  in  and  out 
of  their  holes  as  we  approached.  The  distance  from  Goutsa 
to  Phari  was  about  16  miles,  of  which  the  last  8  miles  were 
over  flat  country  with  a  springy  turf,  on  which  it  was  a 
pleasure  to  be  able  to  canter  again  after  having  passed 
over  so  many  miles  of  stony  roads.  Chomolhari,  the  Mountain 
of  the  Goddess,  stood  up  as  a  wonderful  sight  with  its  sharp 
peak  outlined  against  the  clear  blue  sky.  On  its  summit 
the  wind  was  evidently  very  strong,  as  we  could  see  the 
fresh  snow  being  whirled  off  in  clouds. 

Phari  is  an  extremely  dirty  village  dominated  by  a  stone 
fort  and  lying  under  the  shadow  of  the  great  mountain 
Chomolhari,  23,930  feet  high.  It  is  14,300  feet  above  sea 
level,  and  the  climate  there  is  always  cold,  as  it  is  never 
without  a  strong  wind.  In  the  afternoon  the  Jongpen,  or 
Governor  of  the  district,  came  to  call  on  me.  He  was  a 
young  man  with  an  intelligent  and  pleasant  face,  and  came 
from  the  country  between  Khamba  Dzong  and  ShekarDzong, 
so  that  he  was  able  to  give  us  much  useful  information 
about  the  road  ;  he  promised  that  he  would  write  to  his 
brother,  who  was  acting  as  agent  for  liim  at  his  home,  telhng 
him  to  entertain  us  and  give  us  all  facilities  in  the  matters 
of  transport  and  supplies.  He  told  us  that  he  had  received 
written  instructions  from  the  Lhasa  Government  to  arrange 
for  supplies  and  transport  for  us,  and  he  promised  that  he 
would  do  his  best.  I  gave  him  photographs  that  I  had 
taken  last  year  of  his  fort,  and  also  of  Chomolhari ;  these 
pleased  him  very  much,  and  in  return  he  presented  us  with 
a  dried  sheep  which  looked  mummified  and  smelt  very 
strongly,  but  which  proved  very  acceptable  to  our  cooHes. 
It  was  necessary  to  stop  here  for  several  days  as  the  second 
part};-  had  to  catch  up,  and  they  too  needed  a  day's  rest. 
Also  the  transport  that  was  to  carry  us  along  to  Khamba 
Dzong  would  not  be  ready  for  several  days,  so  the  following 


46       THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

morning  I  went  to  call  on  the  Jongpen  in  his  fort,  where 
I  found  him  li\ang  in  some  very  dark  rooms.  I  presented 
him  with  one  of  the  new  lever  electric  torches,  which  he 
much  appreciated,  though  at  first  he  and  his  servants  were 
rather  frightened  by  it.  He  gave  us  tea  and  sweetmeats, 
and  soon  afterwards  the  head-men  of  all  the  villages  came 
in,  and  were  given  orders  about  our  transport.  Their  quaint 
attitudes  of  respect  and  their  darkly  bronzed  faces,  that 
just  showed  up  in  the  light,  reminded  me  forcibly  of  an  old 
Dutch  picture.  Some  men,  too,  had  been  sent  from  Khamba 
Dzong  for  orders  and  to  know  when  we  should  be  likely 
to  arrive  there.  In  the  course  of  the  afternoon  Dr.  Heron 
and  I  rode  over  to  a  monastery  about  3  miles  away  where 
I  had  been  last  year,  and  where  I  had  taken  some  photo- 
graphs. Some  prints  of  these  I  brought  back  to  the  monastery, 
and  the  monks  were  very  pleased  with  them.  They  were 
in  the  middle  of  a  service  when  we  arrived,  as  it  was  some 
kind  of  festival,  and  the  dark  temple  was  illuminated  by 
hundreds  of  little  butter  lamps.  The  monks  were  all  chanting 
their  scriptures,  and  this  they  continued  to  do  all  the  afternoon. 
On  returning  to  Phari,  we  found  that  a  message  had 
come  from  the  Jongpen  to  ask  us  to  dine  with  him  the 
following  evening.  The  change  in  the  climate  and  the  bad 
cooking  had  affected  the  stomachs  of  all  the  members  of 
the  Expedition,  and  none  of  us  was  feeling  very  well.  Dr. 
Kellas  was  the  worst,  and  as  soon  as  he  arrived  at  Phari 
he  retired  to  bed.  The  following  morning  was  misty  and 
the  ground  was  all  white  with  hoar-frost,  though  it  was 
the  last  day  in  May  ;  but  as  I  was  anxious  to  get  some 
photographs  of  Chomolhari  we  rode,  with  the  Chaukidar  as 
a  guide,  through  the  mist  across  the  plain  to  some  hills 
just  to  the  South  of  the  great  mountain  ;  after  a  few  miles 
we  found  ourselves  above  the  clouds  with  the  sun  shining 
in  a  brilliant  blue  sky.  The  whole  of  the  Phari  Plain  was 
covered  by  a  sea  of  clouds.  On  the  far  side  rose  the  Pawhunri 
group  of  mountains,  while  further  to  the  South,  Kanchen- 
junga  towered  above  all  the  other  peaks,  such  as  Siniolchum, 


CiiiiMdiii  Aki   luoM    rnK  Sm  i  ii. 


THE  TIBETAN  PLATEAU  47 

Kabru  and  Jonsong,  all  of  which  stood  out  very  clearly 
in  this  brilliant  atmosphere.  I  rode  up  a  delightful  little 
mountain  valley  full  of  dwarf  rhododendrons  and  Alpine 
primulas  until  I  reached  a  height  of  16,000  feet.  We  then 
left  the  ponies  and  climbed  on  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  which 
was  about  17,500  feet ;  from  this  point  we  had  glorious  views 
of  Chomolhari  immediately  across  the  valley,  while  on  the 
other  side  we  looked  over  to  the  snowy  peaks  and  ranges 
in  Bhutan  far  to  the  South  of  us.  We  found  the  wind  very 
keen  at  this  height,  and  after  taking  several  photographs 
we  rode  back  again  to  Phari. 

Here  I  found  the  place  full  of  troubles.  Our  Coolie  Sirdar 
was,  as  we  were  beginning  to  find  out,  not  only  useless,  but 
very  mischievous,  and  he  was  evidently  at  the  bottom  of 
an  attempted  mutiny  among  our  coolies,  who  refused  to 
go  on.  The  Sirdar  strongly  objected  to  our  interpreters, 
who  were  preventing  him  from  fleecing  us  in  the  matter 
of  stores  and  supplies.  However,  after  much  talking  they 
were  all  satisfied.  Then  it  was  the  turn  of  the  cooks,  all 
of  whom  the  Sirdar  had  chosen.  I  should  not  have  minded 
one  or  two  of  these  going,  as  they  were  very  bad  cooks  and 
usually  di'unk,  and  the  fact  that  all  of  us  had  been  ill  was 
solely  due  to  their  bad  cooking ;  but  I  could  not  let  them 
all  go,  so  it  was  necessary  to  find  out  which  were  the  most 
useless,  and  this  we  were  able  to  do  in  the  course  of  the  next 
few  days.  Dr.  Kellas  was  getting  no  better ;  he  refused  to 
take  any  food,  and  was  very  depressed  about  himself.  At 
Phari  I  was  able  to  change  a  certain  number  of  our  rupees 
into  Tibetan  currency.  The  then  rate  of  exchange  was 
33  rupees  to  1  sersang — a  gold  coin — and  4^  silver  trangkas 
to  1  rupee.  The  trangkas  were  a  thin  and  very  badly  stamped 
coin  about  the  size  of  a  two-shilling  piece.  We  found  them, 
however,  to  be  the  most  useful  form  of  currency  as  the  gold 
coin,  though  much  easier  to  carry,  could  only  be  exchanged 
at  a  few  places,  and  it  was  seldom  that  we  met  people  who 
were  rich  enough  to  be  able  to  change  them. 

That  night  four  of  us  went  over  to  have  dinner  with 


48       THE   NARRATIVE   OF   THE   EXPEDITION 

the  Jongpen.  First  we  were  given  tea  and  sweetmeats, 
followed  by  strong  ginger  wine,  which  was  most  comforting 
to  our  stomachs  in  their  delicate  condition.  Then  came 
dishes  of  mutton  in  varying  forms  with  vegetables  and 
macaroni.  They  were  aU  served  up  in  Chinese  fashion  in 
httle  dishes  and  some  were  quite  appetising.  We  were 
very  late  in  starting  the  next  morning  as  all  the  loads  had 
to  be  sorted  and  laid  out  for  the  very  miscellaneous  transport 
that  had  been  given  us.  This  consisted  of  ponies,  mules, 
donkeys,  buUocks  and  yaks.  For  riding-animals  we  were 
given  mules,  which  trotted  well  and  covered  the  ground 
quite  quickly,  though  some  of  the  Alpine  cUmbers  found 
them  hard  to  manage  and  were  apt  to  part  company  with 
their  steeds.  Our  transport  was  by  now  becoming  rather 
complicated  as  forty-four  animals  were  going  right  through 
to  Khamba  Dzong  and  forty-four  were  being  changed  at 
every  stage.  Dr.  Kellas  was  not  well  enough  to  ride  and 
was  carried  in  an  arm-chair  all  day.  Soon  after  starting 
I  passed  two  of  our  cooks  on  the  road  hopelessly  drunk, 
and  left  them  there.  Our  way  led  over  the  Tang  La,  a  very 
gentle  and  scarcely  perceptible  pass,  15,200  feet,  but 
important  as  being  the  main  Himalayan  watershed.  All 
day  there  was  a  very-^  strong  South  wind  blowing,  but  it 
was  luckily  at  our  backs,  and  we  did  not  feel  it  too  much. 
We  then  quickly  trotted  the  10  miles  across  the  absolutely 
level  Tang-piin-sum  Plain.  Here  I  saw  several  herds  of 
kiang,  the  wild  ass  of  Tibet,  and  got  within  50  yards  of  one 
lot,  but  unfortunately  the  coolie  who  was  carrying  my 
camera  was  not  up  with  me  at  the  time.  We  also  passed 
a  certain  number  of  Tibetan  gazelle,  but  they  were  all  very 
wary.  The  Monsoon  clouds  came  up  to  the  South  of  us  in 
great  rolling  billows,  but  not  a  drop  of  moisture  came  over 
the  Tang  La.  Chomolhari  was  a  magnificent  sight  all  day 
with  its  7,000  feet  of  precipices  descending  sheer  into  the 
plain.  Tuna  (14,800  feet),  about  20  miles  from  Phari,  was 
our  first  halt.  We  were  still  on  the  main  road  to  Lhasa 
and  found  a  comfortable  rest-house  into  which  the  eight  of 


THE  TIBETAN   PLATEAU  49 

us  all  managed  to  stow  ourselves.  Dr.  Kellas,  though  rather 
better  the  next  day,  was  still  too  weak  to  ride,  and  was 
carried  for  the  next  march  on  a  litter.  We  were  now  in 
the  true  Tibetan  climate,  with  brilliant  sunshine,  blue  skies, 
still  mornings  and  strong  winds  all  the  afternoon. 

The  next  march  from  Tuna  to  Dochen  was  still  on  the 
Lhasa  Road.  I  did  not  follow  the  path,  but  rode  with  a 
local  man  from  the  village  over  the  great  Tang-piin-sum 
Plain  in  search  of  goa — Tibetan  gazelle.  We  saw  many 
of  them  on  the  plains,  but  they  were  the  wiliest  and  most 
difficult  animals  to  approach,  and  in  this  flat  and  bare 
country  it  was  not  possible  ever  to  get  within  300  yards 
of  them.  As  a  rule  they  ran  ofi  when  we  were  still  half 
a  mile  away.  They  are  restless  little  creatures,  always 
on  the  move,  and  never  at  any  time  an  easy  mark  to  hit. 
I  thoroughly  enjoyed  this  ride  over  the  plains  and  our 
glorious  views  of  Chomolhari  and  the  great  snow-covered 
and  glaciated  chain  to  the  North  of  it  along  the  foot  of 
which  we  were  traveUing.  A  curious  pink  trumpet-shaped 
flower  grew  in  great  quantities  on  the  plain  ;  the  leaves 
were  buried  under  the  sand  and  only  the  flower  showed 
its  head  above  the  ground.  There  were  also  white  pin- 
cushions of  a  kind  of  tiny  saxifrage.  This  plain,  over  which 
we  were  riding,  was  evidently  once  upon  a  time  a  lake  bed, 
as  the  pebbles  were  rounded  and  there  were  distinct  evidences 
of  former  shores  along  the  sides  of  the  hills.  Many  kiang 
were  grazing  on  it  and  many  thousands  of  sheep  were  being 
pastured  there.  As  we  approached  the  lake  called  Bamtso, 
the  country  became  very  marshy,  and  our  ponies  got  bogged 
several  times.  The  bungalow  at  Dochen  was  situated  near 
the  shores  of  the  Bamtso.  Never  have  I  seen  a  lake  with 
so  many  colours  in  it.  It  was  very  shallow,  and  the  shades 
varied  from  deep  blue  and  purple  to  Hght  green,  while  in 
places  it  was  almost  red  from  a  weed  that  grew  in  it.  Behind 
it  was  a  background  of  snow  and  glacier-covered  mountains, 
which  in  the  still  mornings  was  reflected  faithfully  in  its 
waters  and  formed  a  charming  picture.     Swimming  on  this 

M.E.  B 


50       THE  NARRATIVE   OF   THE   EXPEDITION 

lake  were  many  bar-headed  geese  and  Brahminy  ducks,  and 
along  the  shores  were  many  terns  and  yellow  wagtails. 

That  evening  an  amusing  thing  happened  in  the  kitchen. 
One  of  our  cooks  was  heating  up  a  tin  of  tinned  fish  and  had 
put  it  in  some  hot  water  without  previously  opening  it. 
When  he  thought  it  was  sufficiently  hot,  he  started  to  open 
it,  with  the  result  that  it  exploded  violently,  covering  him 
and  every  one  else  in  the  kitchen  with  small  pieces  of  fish. 
I  was  able  then  to  explain  to  the  Tibetans  who  were  carrying 
our  loads  that  our  stores  were  very  dangerous,  and  that  if 
any  were  at  any  time  stolen,  they  would  be  liable  to  explode 
and  hurt  them.  It  was,  of  course,  the  rarefied  air  that  had 
caused  this,  for  Dochen  is  at  a  height  of  14,700  feet  above 
sea  level. 

Every  day  on  from  now  the  wind  used  to  blow  with  great 
violence  all  the  afternoon,  but  would  die  down  after  sunset. 
It  must  have  been  of  a  local  nature  caused  by  the  rapid 
changes  from  high  temperature  to  low,  because  the  clouds 
above  at  the  same  time  were  hardly  moving.  I  sent  back 
Dorje,  one  of  our  cooks,  from  this  place,  as  it  was  the  fourth 
time  that  he  had  been  drunk,  and  this  I  hoped  would  be 
a  lesson  to  the  others.  We  now  left  the  Lhasa  Road  and 
turned  off  Westwards,  having  henceforward  to  rely  on  our 
tents. 

From  Dochen  to  Khe  was  a  short  march  of  11  miles  over 
the  Dug  Pass,  16,400  feet.  I  did  not  follow  the  road  taken 
by  the  transport  animals,  but  took  a  local  guide  and  rode 
over  the  hill-tops  in  search  of  ovis  ammon.  I  did  not  see 
any,  however,  though  we  sighted  two  or  three  goa,  but  they 
were  very  wild  and  would  not  allow  me  to  approach  within 
500  yards  of  them.  There  were  numbers  of  blue  hares, 
however,  and  some  ram  chakor,  the  Himalayan  snow  cock. 
But  beyond  this  the  hillsides  were  very  bare  of  game.  There 
were  pin-cushions  of  a  beautiful  little  blue  sedum  growing 
at  a  height  of  over  17,000  feet,  also  there  was  a  big  red 
stonecrop.  Khe  is  now  only  a  small  and  dirty  village  with 
practically  no  water  except  a  half-diicd  muddy  pond,  but 


THE   TIBETAN   PLATEAU  51 

at  one  time  it  must  have  been  a  place  of  some  importance, 
as  ruins  and  buildings  of  considerable  size  extend  over 
an  area  of  more  than  a  mile.  The  Kala-tso  evidently  at 
one  time  came  right  up  to  this  ruined  town  of  Khetam, 
and  the  fact  that  it  is  deserted  now  is  probably  due  to  the 
shrinkage  of  the  lake.  This  was  only  one  of  the  many  signs 
of  desiccation  that  we  saw  in  our  travels  in  Tibet.  There 
were  some  curious  ruins  which  looked  like  old  crenellated 
walls,  but  these  walls  were  only  places  on  which  barley  dough 
used  to  be  exposed  to  feed  the  crows  as  a  sign  of  prosperity. 
It  was  a  curious  custom  and  could  only  have  prevailed  in 
a  very  fertile  valley,  which  this  place  is  no  longer.  The  age 
of  the  city  I  could  not  find  out,  but  the  few  survivors  told 
me  that  the  holy  shrine  at  Tashilumpo,  which  now  is  at 
Shigatse,  ought  to  have  been  built  here.  According  to 
a  local  legend,  there  was  a  certain  stone  in  Khetam  shaped 
like  a  ewe's- womb,  and  one  day  a  donkey  driver  finding 
that  his  loads  were  unequal  in  weight,  picked  up  this  stone 
and  put  it  on  the  light  load  to  balance  the  other,  quite 
unaware  of  the  importance  of  the  stone.  This  stone  was 
then  carried  from  Gyantse  to  Shigatse,  where  a  high  and 
important  Lama  saw  it,  and  recognising  that  this  was  a 
very  holy  stone,  had  it  kept  there.  The  powerful  monastery 
of  Tashilumpo  was  built  over  this  stone.  We  passed  two 
smaU  nunneries  called  Doto  and  Shidag  in  snug  little  valleys 
to  the  North  of  the  plain,  and  on  askmg  why  there  should 
be  so  many  nunneries  in  these  parts  when  in  the  greater 
part  of  Tibet  men  predominated,  I  was  told  that  this  was 
due  to  the  fact  that  it  was  close  to  the  Nepalese  frontier 
where  there  had  always  been  much  fightmg,  so  that  most 
of  the  men  had  been  killed  and  only  women  had  survived. 
After  a  short  and  easy  march  we  came  to  a  smaU  pocket 
in  the  hills  called  lOieru.  Here  were  encamped  some  people 
belonging  to  a  nomad  tribe  who  always  lived  in  tents.  They 
were  very  friendly,  put  tents  at  our  disposal,  and  did  their 
best  to  make  us  comfortable.  They  told  us  that  they  came 
here  every  year  in  the  twelfth  month,  about  January,  and 


52       THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

left  again  in  the  fifth  month  of  the  Tibetan  year  (June)  for 
a  place  near  Tuna,  where  they  disposed  of  their  wool,  butter 
and  cheese  at  the  Phari  market.  There  were  altogether 
about  twenty  famihes  here  owning  some  200  yaks  and  3,000 
sheep.  Dr.  Kellas  was  sUghtly  better,  but  Raeburn  was 
not  feeling  at  aU  well,  and  Wheeler  was  suffering  from 
indigestion,  so  that  we  were  rather  a  sick  party.  Kheru 
lies  at  a  height  of  15,700  feet,  but  it  had  been  very  hot  all 
day  in  the  briUiant  sunshine,  and  on  the  way  we  had  passed 
Uzards  and  a  number  of  common  peacock  butterflies.  Next 
morning  our  march  was  to  Tatsang  (Falcon's  Nest),  a  distance 
of  15  or  16  miles,  and  over  two  passes  16,450  and  17,100 
feet.  The  going  was  easy  all  the  way,  as  the  gradients 
both  up  and  down  the  passes  were  very  gentle.  Between 
the  two  passes  was  a  broad  valley,  filled  with  huge  flocks  of 
sheep  and  herds  of  yaks,  and  after  crossing  the  second  pass, 
we  descended  into  a  great  barren  and  stony  plain,  more 
than  10  miles  across  which  was  Tatsang  and  over  wliich  the 
wind  blew  very  keenly.  To  the  South  of  us  appeared  the 
snowy  crests  of  Pawhunri,  Kanchenjhow  and  Chomiomo  and 
the  Lhonak  peaks.  Again  I  did  not  keep  with  the  transport, 
but  followed  the  crests  of  the  hiUs,  where  I  had  lovely  views  ; 
on  the  way  I  saw  plenty  of  gazelle,  and  was  lucky  enough 
to  shoot  one  of  them,  as  they  are  very  good  eating.  Our 
camp  at  Tatsang  was  pitched  just  below  the  nunnery  there, 
which  is  on  the  top  of  a  rock  and  where  there  are  about 
thirty  nuns.  Our  camp  was  on  a  pleasant  grassy  spot  where 
some  excellent  springs  bubble  up  out  of  the  ground.  These 
within  a  few  yards  formed  quite  a  big  stream  full  of  small 
snow  trout.  They  do  not  really  belong  to  the  trout  family, 
although  they  have  somewhat  similar  spots,  and  are  very 
good  to  eat.  Bullock,  with  his  butterfly  net,  and  the  coolies 
with  their  hands,  managed  to  catch  quite  a  number  of  fish, 
and  we  had  them  for  dinner  that  night.  The  ground  round 
our  tents  was  full  of  holes  out  of  which  the  marmot  rats 
kept  appearing.  They  were  very  tame,  and  did  not  seem 
to  be  in  the  least  afraid  of  us.     Dr.  Kellas  had  had  a  very 


THE   TIBETAN  PLATEAU  53 

trying  day.  He  had  been  rather  better,  and  had  started 
riding  a  yak,  but  he  found  this  too  exhausting  and  coolies 
had  to  be  sent  back  from  Tatsang  to  bring  him  on  in  a  Htter, 
so  that  he  did  not  arrive  at  Tatsang  till  late  in  the  evening. 
Tatsang  is  16,000  feet,  so  the  night  was  cold,  the  thermo- 
meter inside  the  tent  registering  7°  of  frost,  though  it  was 
June  4  ;  outside  there  must  have  been  quite  15°  as  the 
running  streams  were  all  frozen  over,  but  once  the  sun  had 
risen  everything  warmed  up  and  we  had  a  beautiful  warm 
day.  Dr.  Kellas  started  ofiE  in  his  htter  at  7  a.m.  in  quite 
good  spirits.  I  did  not  start  till  an  hour  later,  as  I  had 
wanted  to  see  everything  off,  and  then  went  up  to  visit 
the  nunnery,  over  which  the  lady  abbess  showed  me.  There 
were  thirty  nuns  hving  there,  all  with  shorn  heads  and 
wearing  a  curious  wool  head-dress.  The  place  where  they 
worshipped  was  full  of  prayer  wheels,  both  large  and  smaU. 
They  sat  down  behind  these,  and  each  nun  turned  one  or 
two  of  them  if  they  could  manage  it.  The  room  was  very 
dark,  with  a  low  ceiling,  and  at  the  end  were  several  statues 
of  Buddha  covered  over  with  gauze  veils.  In  another  room 
there  was  a  large  prayer  wheel  which  they  said  contained 
half  a  milHon  prayers. 

After  leaving  the  nunnery  we  jogged  along  a  dry  and 
barren  vaUey  which  gradually  rose  in  about  12  miles  to 
a  pass  17,200  feet.  On  the  way  we  passed  Dr.  Kellas  in 
his  htter,  who  then  seemed  to  me  to  be  stiU  quite  cheerful. 
I  then  rode  on  and  at  the  top  of  the  pass  saw  three  ovis 
ammon,  and  after  a  chase  of  about  a  mile  I  shot  one,  which 
afforded  plenty  of  food  for  the  coolies  for  some  days.  It 
was  a  full  grown  ram  about  five  years  old  and  we  had  great 
trouble  in  getting  the  carcass  on  to  a  mule,  as  it  was  enormous 
and  very  heavy.  After  this  I  rode  on  do^vn  the  valley  for 
another  10  miles  to  Khamba  Dzong.  There  were  actually 
a  few  bushes  m  this  valley,  which  was  carpeted  wdth  the 
pretty  pink  trumpet-shaped  flower  mentioned  above,  also 
with  hght  and  dark  blue  iris.  Suddenly  the  valley  narrowed 
into  a  fine  hmestone  gorge,  and  all  at  once  the  fort  of  Khamba 


54       THE   NARRATIVE   OF   THE   EXPEDITION 

Dzong  appeared  towering  above  us  on  the  cliffs.  It  was 
really  a  very  impressive  sight  and  some  of  the  architecture 
of  the  round  towers  was  very  fine.  I  found  that  Morshead 
had  been  waiting  here  for  about  nine  days,  but  had  employed 
his  time  in  fixing  the  old  triangulation  points.  Soon  after 
I  arrived  the  Jongpen  came  down  to  pay  us  a  visit.  He 
was  quite  a  young  fellow,  only  about  twenty-four,  but  very 
pleasant  and  polite. 

While  we  were  talking,  a  man  came  running  up  to  us 
very  excitedly  to  say  that  Dr.  Kellas  had  suddenly  died  on 
the  way.  We  could  hardly  believe  this,  as  he  was  apparently 
gradually  getting  better  ;  but  WoUaston  at  once  rode  off 
to  see  if  it  was  true,  and  unfortunately  found  that  there 
was  no  doubt  about  it.  It  was  a  case  of  sudden  failure  of 
the  heart,  due  to  his  weak  condition,  while  being  carried  over 
the  high  pass.  His  death  meant  a  very  great  loss  to  the 
Expedition  in  every  way,  as  he  alone  was  qualified  to  carry 
out  the  experiments  in  oxygen  and  blood  pressure  which 
would  have  been  so  valuable  to  the  Expedition,  and  on 
which  subject  he  was  so  great  an  expert.  His  very  keenness 
had  been  the  cause  of  his  illness,  for  he  had  tried  his 
constitution  too  severely  in  the  early  months  of  that  year 
by  expeditions  into  the  heart  of  the  Himalayas  to  see  if  he 
could  get  fresh  photographs  from  other  angles  of  Mount 
Everest.  The  following  day  we  buried  him  on  the  slopes  of 
the  hill  to  the  Sbuth  of  Khamba  Dzong,  in  a  site  unsurpassed 
for  beauty  that  looks  across  the  broad  jilains  of  Tibet  to 
the  mighty  chain  of  the  Himalayas  out  of  which  rise  up 
the  three  great  peaks  of  Pawhunri,  Kanchenjhow  and 
Chomiomo,  which  he  alone  had  climbed.  From  the  same 
spot,  far  away  to  the  West — more  than  a  hundred  miles 
away — could  be  seen  the  snowy  crest  of  Mount  Everest 
towering  far  above  all  the  other  mountains.  He  lies, 
therefore,  within  sight  of  his  greatest  feats  in  climbing  and 
within  view  of  the  mountain  that  he  had  longed  for  so 
many  years  to  approach — a  fitting  resting-place  for  a  great 
mountaineer. 


K  \MrA    DZONG. 


CHAPTER   III 

FROM  KHA:\IBA  DZOXG  through  U:NTQsOWN 
COUNTRY  TO   TIXGRI 

Our  camp  at  Khamba  Dzong*  was  pitched  in  a  walled 
enclosure  at  the  foot  of  the  fort,  built  on  a  great  crag  that 
rose  500  feet  sheer  above  us.  They  called  this  enclosure  a 
Bagichah,  or  garden,  because  it  once  boasted  of  three  willow 
trees.  Only  one  of  these  three  is  alive  to-day,  the  other 
two  being  merely  dead  stumps  of  wood.  The  Jongpen  here, 
who  was  under  the  direct  orders  of  Shigatse,  was  very  friendl}-, 
and  after  our  arrival  presented  us  with  five  live  sheep,  a 
hundred  eggs,  and  a  small  carpet  which  he  had  had  made 
in  his  o\\Ti  factory  in  the  fort.  Xext  afternoon  Morshead, 
Wollaston  and  myself  went  up  to  pay  the  Jongpen  a  visit 
in  his  fort.  It  was  a  steep  climb  from  our  camp,  past  long 
Mendongs  or  Mani  walls  covered  with  inscribed  prayers. 
The  Jongpen  was  at  the  entrance  waiting  to  receive  us. 
He  then  showed  us  over  his  stables,  where  he  had  several 
nice  Tibetan  ponies,  which  strongly  objected  to  Eui'opeans 
and  lashed  out  fiercely  as  we  approached  them.  After 
looking  at  them  we  went  up  many  flights  of  most  dangerously 
steep  stairs,  almost  in  pitch  darkness  the  whole  time,  until 
we  came  to  a  small  courtj'ard.  Then  after  climbing  up 
more  steps,  we  were  ushered  into  a  small  latticed  room 
where  we  were  given  the  usual  Tibetan  tea  and  sweetmeats. 
I  presented  the  Jongpen  with  one  of  the  new  lever  electric 
torches,  with  wliich  he  was  much  pleased,  saying  it  would 
be  of  much  use  to  him  in  going  up  and  down  his  dark 
staircases.  After  tea  he  took  us  up  on  to  the  roof  of  the 
fort,  which  was  quite  flat,  and  from  which  we  had  a  most 
magnificent  view.     We  stood  on  the  top  of  a  great  precipice 

*  Dzong  means  fort. 
55 


56       THE   NARRATIVE   OF   THE   EXPEDITION 

and  looked  straight  down  at  our  camp,  which  lay  many 
hundred  feet  below  but  almost  within  a  stone's  throw.  From 
here  too  we  could  look  across  the  wide  plains  and  valleys 
of  the  Yarn  and  its  tributaries  to  the  main  chain  of  the 
Himalayas  which  formed  the  Southern  boundary  to  the 
picture.  From  this  side  they  do  not  appear  nearly  as 
imposing  as  they  do  when  seen  from  the  South.  Seen  as 
they  are  from  a  height  of  over  15,000  feet,  the  distance  to 
the  sky  line  is  not  nearly  so  great,  and  as  a  rule  we  found 
the  Northern  slopes  to  be  much  less  steep  than  those  on 
the  Southern  side.  The  snow  line,  too,  was  also  several 
thousand  feet  higher.  Every  day  great  masses  of  moist 
cumulus  clouds  came  rolling  up  and  round  the  peaks  to  the 
South  of  us,  indicating  heavy  faUs  of  rain  and  snow  on  the 
South,  but  very  little  of  this  came  over  the  watershed — 
only  an  occasional  slight  hailstorm  or  a  few  drops  of  rain. 
From  this  point  we  could  see  as  far  West  as  Mount  Everest, 
stiU  over  a  hundred  miles  away.  After  spending  some  time 
up  there  and  admiring  and  discussing  the  view,  we  descended 
once  more  into  the  fort,  where  the  Jongpen  showed  us  some 
of  the  carpets  that  his  womenfolk  were  busy  making  and 
promised  to  have  some  ready  for  us  by  the  time  that  we 
came  back.  We  also  much  admired  the  curious  old  locks 
by  which  the  doors  and  boxes  were  fastened  ;  before  leaving, 
he  made  me  a  present  of  one  of  these  locks. 

June  7  saw  us  still  at  Khamba  Dzong,  as  the  transport 
would  not  be  ready  till  the  following  day.  Raeburn,  who 
for  some  time  had  been  suffering  from  the  same  complamt 
as  Dr.  Kellas,  was  unfortunately  getting  no  better  and  was 
getting  weaker  every  day.  We  were  therefore  reluctantly 
compelled  to  send  him  back  again  into  Sikldm  to  Lachen, 
where  he  could  be  taken  charge  of  by  the  lady  missionaries 
and  properly  looked  after.  Wollaston  and  Gyalzen  Kazi 
were  to  accompany  him  down  to  Lachen,  and  if  possible  to 
rejoin  us  by  the  time  that  we  got  to  Tingri.  This  break-up 
of  our  climbing  party  was  most  annoying  and  seriously 
weakened   our   party,   obhging   us    to    alter    our  plans   for 


FEOM  KHAMBA   DZONG  TO   TINGRI  57 

reconnoitring  in  a  thorough  manner  the  various  approaches 
to  Mount  Everest.  The  following  day,  after  a  good  deal 
of  delay  and  argument  about  the  loads,  we  got  everything 
loaded  up  and  started  off  for  Lingga,  a  march  of  about  16 
miles  to  the  West.  For  the  first  few  miles  we  rode  across  a 
great  plain  on  which  were  several  small  herds  of  goa,  but 
these  were  very  wary  and  kept  well  out  of  shot.  The  path 
then  took  us  alongside  a  small  isolated  rocky  hill  in  which 
we  kept  putting  up  numerous  hares  who  often  got  up  right 
under  our  ponies'  feet.  We  crossed  the  Yaru  River,  now 
only  a  small  stream,  at  the  picturesque  village  of  Mende 
with  its  fine  willow  trees,  and  then  after  passing  over  a  spur, 
formed  of  slaty  rock,  we  descended  into  another  great  plain 
which  extended  all  the  way  to  Tingri.  Five  miles  across  this 
plain  was  the  village  of  Lingga,  surrounded  by  marshes  and 
ponds,  with  barley  fields  and  rich  grass  growing  between 
the  patches  of  water.  There  were  several  other  villages  in 
sight,  so  that  the  plain  was  evidently  fertile  and  could  support 
a  considerable  population.  This  was  the  first  place  where 
we  became  bothered  by  sand  flies,  which  in  the  morning 
were  very  troublesome  ;  but  when  the  wind  got  up,  as  it 
always  did  in  the  afternoons,  it  blew  them  away,  and  for 
once  was  welcome.  The  villagers  were  very  hospitable ; 
they  produced  tea  and  beer  brewed  from  barley  for  us  as 
soon  as  we  arrived  there.  The  latter  is  quite  a  pleasant 
drink  on  a  hot  day,  but  it  did  not  agree  with  my  inside  at 
all.  The  people  here  had  never  seen  a  European  before, 
and  though  at  first  incHned  to  be  rather  shy,  they  soon 
became  very  friendly  and  curious.  Some  pieces  of  silver 
paper  from  chocolates  quite  won  the  hearts  of  the  children 
who  flocked  around  and  did  not  in  the  least  mind  being 
photographed.  To  the  South  extended  the  chain  of  snows 
of  the  main  range  of  the  Himalayas,  and  on  the  way  we 
had  several  clear  and  distinct  views  of  Mount  Everest. 
Morshead,  who  had  left  the  day  before,  was  camped  at  a 
small  monastery  a  few  miles  to  the  North  of  us  in  order  to 
follow  the  crest  of  the  ridge  of  hills  and  to  survey  both  sides, 


58       THE   NARRATIVE   OF   THE   EXPEDITION 

but  was  to  join  us  again  at  Tinki.  The  weather  now  was 
really  delightful,  though  to  the  South  of  us  we  still  saw 
heavy  clouds  which  brought  showers  of  snow  as  far  as  the 
mountains,  but  they  did  not  reach  us. 

From  here  to  Tinki  was  about  13  miles  over  a  perfectly 
level  plain.  The  midges  or  sand  flies  were  very  troublesome 
the  whole  way  and  came  in  hundreds  round  one's  head,  got 
inside  one's  topee,  and  were  thoroughly  objectionable.  The 
plain  appeared  very  fertile,  as  there  seemed  to  be  plenty  of 
water  and  great  herds  of  yaks  and  flocks  of  sheep  were 
grazing  upon  it.  In  the  marshes  and  ponds  were  many 
bar-headed  geese,  Brahminy  ducks,  mallard  and  teal.  After 
the  rains,  it  is  evident  that  a  great  part  of  this  plain  is  under 
water.  About  a  couple  of  miles  from  Tinki  we  crossed  some 
curious  sand  dunes,  about  20  feet  high,  which  are  evidently 
on  the  move,  and  soon  afterwards  the  Jongpen  of  Tinki 
came  riding  out  to  meet  us  with  a  few  mounted  followers, 
he  himself  riding  a  fine  white  pony.  He  was  very  Chinese 
in  appearance,  wearing  finely  embroidered  silks  with  a 
Chinese  hat  and  a  long  pigtail,  and  his  manners  were 
excellent.  He  escorted  us  to  the  place  where  our  camp 
was  to  be,  and  had  had  three  or  four  tents  already  pitched  for 
us.  Tea  and  country  beer  were  at  once  served,  and  we 
rested  in  the  shade  of  his  Chinese  tents  until  our  transport 
arrived. 

We  were  encamped  in  a  very  picturesque  spot  beside  a 
large  pond  that  was  full  of  bar-headed  geese,  Brahminy 
ducks  and  terns.  On  the  opposite  side  of  this  pond  rose 
the  walls  and  towers  of  the  fort  of  Tinki.  As  soon  as  we  had 
settled  down,  the  Jongpen  came  again  to  pay  us  a  formal 
visit,  presented  us  with  four  sheep  and  a  couple  of  hundred 
eggs  and  promised  to  do  everything  he  could  to  help  us  and 
to  forward  us  on  our  way.  Half  a  mile  above  us  was  a  large 
village  and  a  big  monastery  belonging  to  the  Yellow  Sect  of 
Buddhists  who  also  owned  a  fine  grove  of  willows.  The 
bottom  of  the  valley  was  all  covered  with  barley  fields,  now 
a  tender  green  and  coming  up  well.     As  the  fresh  transport 


IXKl     1  l/.oNi;. 


FROM   KHAMBA  DZONG   TO   TINGRI  59 

had  not  arrived,  we  had  to  spend  the  following  day  there.  This 
gave  an  opportunity  for  Abdul  Jalil,  our  photographic 
assistant,  to  rejoin  us.  We  had  sent  him  back  to  Phari 
in  order  to  change  some  more  rupees  into  Tibetan  currency, 
as  we  found  that  Indian  notes  or  rupees  were  not  accepted 
any  further  to  the  West.  Abdul  Jalil  had  been  very  nervous 
about  travelling  with  so  much  money  and  had  borrowed  a 
revolver  and  a  rifle  from  members  of  the  Expedition  besides 
two  large  Tibetan  swords  and  a  dagger  which  he  obtained 
from  the  Jongpen.  In  the  morning,  with  Bullock,  I  went 
to  return  the  call  of  the  Jongpen.  His  fort  at  the  time  was 
under  repair,  so  he  was  living  in  a  small  house  outside  the 
main  building.  He  was  very  affable  and  gave  us  tea  :  we 
were  then  able  to  make  all  the  arrangements  for  transport 
except  the  actual  fixing  of  the  price.  For  this  he  said  he 
would  have  to  consult  his  head-men.  Just  as  we  were  about 
to  leave  he  insisted  on  our  eating  the  large  meal  which  he 
had  had  prepared  for  us.  He  gave  us  small  dishes  of  excellent 
macaroni  and  mince,  seasoned  up  with  chillies  and  very 
well  cooked — much  better  than  anything  our  cooks  could 
produce.  This  we  had  to  eat  with  chopsticks — a  somewhat 
difficult  proceeding,  as  we  were  not  yet  used  to  them.  Later 
on,  however,  after  much  practice,  we  found  no  difficulty  in 
consuming  the  numerous  bowls  of  this  excellent  dish  that 
the  Tibetans  always  set  before  one.  The  Jongpen  told  us 
that  he  had  been  twenty-nine  years  in  Government  service, 
and  he  was  expecting  to  have  a  better  post  than  this  shortly. 
His  health  was  poor  and  he  said  he  had  been  suffering  much 
from  indigestion,  so  I  gave  him  some  pills  and  tabloids,  for 
which  he  was  very  grateful.  On  the  return  journey,  he 
told  me  that  he  had  greatly  benefited  by  my  treatment. 
The  bar-headed  geese  and  the  wild  duck  here  were 
extraordinarily  tame,  allowing  us  to  approach  within  five 
yards  of  them  and  showing  no  signs  of  fear.  They  would 
come  and  waddle  round  our  tents,  picking  up  any  scraps 
of  food.  The  Jongpen  had  begged  us  not  to  shoot  or  kiU 
any  of  them,  as  he  said  a  Lama  had  been  sent  specially 


60       THE   NARRATIVE   OF   THE   EXPEDITION 

from  Lhasa  some  years  ago  in  order  to  tame  the  creatures, 
and  certainly  the  result  was  extraordinary  ;  it  was  most 
interesting  to  watch  these  bii^ds,  ordinarily  so  wild,  from 
so  close  a  distance.  In  the  evening  the  Jongpen  came  over 
to  see  us  again,  and  after  a  good  hour's  bargaining  over  the 
price  of  the  transport,  we  finally  reached  a  reasonable  and 
amicable  agreement.  Every  evening,  to  the  South  of  us, 
there  were  constant  flashes  of  lightning  all  along  the  horizon. 
In  the  morning  I  woke  up  to  the  unusual  sound  of  drops 
of  rain,  but  this  only  lasted  for  five  minutes  and  then  cleared 
up,  though  the  sky  remained  clouded  all  the  morning.  There 
was  the  usual  fighting  and  confusion  about  the  loads,  each 
person  trying  to  get  the  Hghtest  loads  for  his  own  animal. 
The  result  was  that  there  was  much  talking  and  fighting, 
and  nothing  was  actually  done  until  some  head-man  would 
come  and  take  control  and  decide  the  dispute.  The  method 
of  adjudication  was  as  follows  : — From  each  of  the  families 
who  were  regarded  as  responsible  for  the  supply  of  a  transport 
animal  was  taken  one  of  the  embroidered  garters  by  which 
the  man's  felt  boots  are  kept  in  their  place.  These  garters 
were  shuffled,  as  one  might  shuffle  a  pack  of  cards,  after 
which  a  single  garter  was  laid  upon  each  load.  The  family 
to  which  the  garter  belonged  thereupon  became  responsible 
for  that  load  and  had  to  pack  it  upon  the  animal's  back. 
Although  we  had  only  ninety  animals,  there  were  forty-five 
different  families  supplying  them. 

The  march  from  Tinki  to  Chushar  Nango  was  about  14 
miles  and  was  up  the  valley  behind  Tinki  to  the  Tinki  Pass. 
On  the  way  we  passed  well-irrigated  fields  of  barley  and 
then  climbed  up  a  spur  covered  with  a  small  yeUow  cistus. 
After  this  a  long  gentle  pull  brought  us  to  the  top  of  the 
pass,  17,100  feet.  There  was  a  very  fine  view  from  here 
to  the  East  looking  over  Tinki  and  Khamba  Dzong  and  along 
the  Northern  slopes  of  the  Himalayas.  I  climbed  up  a  hill 
about  600  feet  above  the  pass,  whence  I  had  a  more  extensive 
view  still.  I  could  see  far  away  to  the  East  to  Chomolhari, 
while  in  the  foreground  was  the  large  and  picturesque  lake 


FROM  KHAMBA  DZONG  TO   TINGRI  61 

called  Tsomotretung  backed  by  the  rugged  chain  of  peaks 
that  separated  us  from  the  valley  of  the  Brahmaputra. 
To  the  West  we  looked  down  into  the  valley  of  the  Yaru, 
which  flowed  gently  through  a  broad  and  flat  valley.  To  the 
South-west  was  a  range  of  sharp  granite  peaks  rising  up  to 
22,000  feet,  which  ran  North  and  South  and  forced  the 
Yaru  to  flow  round  them  before  it  could  find  its  way  into 
Nepal.  The  descent  from  the  pass  was  much  steeper.  We 
passed  many  of  our  old  friends  the  pink  trumpet-shaped 
flowers,  also  a  curious  white  and  pink  flower,  rather  Hke  a 
daphne  in  shape,  and  smelling  very  sweetly,  which  grew  in 
masses  along  the  path.  It  was  evidently  poisonous  as  no 
animal  would  touch  it.  I  picked  some  flowers  of  it  and 
put  them  in  my  buttonhole,  but  was  warned  by  the  Tibetans 
not  to  do  so,  as  they  said  it  was  poisonous  and  would  give 
me  a  headache.  Lower  down  the  valley  was  full  of  small 
dwarf  gorse  bushes— 1  foot  to  18  inches  high — which  carpeted 
the  ground.  Everywhere  were  flocks  of  sheep  and  cattle 
grazing  in  the  valley.  Our  camp  was  pitched  on  a  grassy 
flat  just  below  the  village  of  Chushar  Nango  with  its  fine 
old  ruined  tower  of  stone  with  machicolated  galleries  all 
round  it.  To  the  South  of  us  was  the  Nila  Pass,  which 
afforded  an  easy  way  into  Nepal.  The  cUmate  here  was 
fairly  warm,  but  the  wind  blew  very  strongly  all  that  evening. 
Next  day  we  saw  the  mountains  all  covered  with  fresh  snow 
down  to  16,000  feet,  but  we  only  experienced  a  slight  drizzle 
as  most  of  the  snowflakes  evaporated  before  they  reached 
the  ground,  though  clouds  remained  overhead  all  the  morning. 
Morshead  and  his  surveyors  had  been  kept  very  busy  up  till 
now  surveying  and  plotting  in  the  intervening  country  from 
the  tops  of  the  hills,  but  o^ving  to  the  clouds  they  were 
unable  to  do  anything.  We  were  all  very  late  in  starting, 
as  our  transport  animals  had  been  changed  and  the  yaks 
that  were  supplied  to  us  were  very  wild.  In  the  first  few 
minutes  after  starting  we  saw  the  plain  strewn  with  our 
kits  and  stores,  and  yaks  careermg  off  in  every  direction 
with  theii*  tails  in  the  air. 


62       THE   NARRATIVE   OF   THE   EXPEDITION 

The  march  to  Gyangkar  Nangpa  to-day  was  only  a  short 
one  and  led  across  a  wide  plain  through  which  flowed  the 
muddy  and  sluggish  waters  of  the  Yaru.  The  existing  maps 
of  this  country  were  quite  misleading  and  we  could  no  longer 
depend  on  them.  The  rivers  flowed  in  opposite  directions 
to  those  shown  on  the  map  and  mountains  were  shown 
where  there  were  none.  After  about  2  or  3  miles,  we  had 
to  ford  the  river,  which  was  about  80  yards  wide  and  not 
quite  3  feet  deep.  We  then  rode  on  across  the  plain,  which 
was  in  some  parts  sandy  and  in  others  muddy  or  gravelly ; 
evidently  during  the  rainy  season  a  shallow  lake.  In  places 
the  dwarf  gorse  grew  on  it.  The  sandy  tracks  were  covered 
with  curious  hillocks  5  to  6  feet  in  height  formed  by  the 
di'iftmg  sand  and  the  gorse  bushes.  These  in  order  to  keep 
ahve  were  compelled  to  push  their  branches  through  the 
sand  which  in  its  turn  became  piled  up  around  them. 
Towards  the  West  end  of  the  plain  were  marshes  and  shallow 
lakes  around  which  we  had  to  make  big  detours. 

Gyangkar  Nangpa,  which  was  our  destination,  was  the 
country  residence  of  the  Phari  Jongpen.  His  brother,  who 
was  acting  as  agent  for  him,  rode  out  to  meet  us  and  escorted 
us  to  his  house,  a  fine  solid  stone  building  dommatmg  all 
the  small  houses.  The  tops  of  the  walls  were  covered  with 
gorse  and  juniper,  rather  suggestive  of  Christmas  decorations. 
Tents  were  pitched  for  us  in  a  grass  paddock  close  to  a  grove 
of  wiUows.  We  were  then  conducted  upstairs  into  a  pleasant 
room  where  were  some  fine  gilt  Chinese  cabinets  and  some 
good  Chinese  rugs.  Here  the  Jongpen  had  a  meal  prepared 
for  us.  We  were  first  given  tea,  milk  and  beer,  after  which 
some  fifteen  dumplings  apiece,  each  as  big  as  a  small  apple, 
were  put  down  in  front  of  us  together  with  three  other  bowls. 
In  one  of  these  was  a  black  Chinese  sauce,  in  another  a  chflhe 
paste,  and  a  third  contained  a  barley  soup.  We  were  then 
given  chopsticks  with  which  we  were  expected  to  convey 
the  dumplings  into  the  barley  soup,  break  them  up  there, 
season  them  with  the  various  sauces,  and  then  convey  them 
to  our  mouths — a  not  too  easy  feat.      This  meal  was  so 


FROM  KHAMBA  DZONG  TO   TINGRI  63 

satisfying  that  we  felt  that  we  did  not  want  to  eat  anything 
for  a  long  time  afterwards.  We  were  told  that  in  the  rainy 
season  the  river  here  was  unfordable,  as  it  rose  several  feet 
and  flooded  over  the  plains,  and  it  was  then  necessary  to 
keep  to  the  North  or  to  the  South  of  it.  In  the  evening 
the  agent  came  to  make  an  official  call  and  presented  us 
with  a  sheep  and  a  number  of  eggs.  We  invited  him  to 
dinner  and  gave  him  his  first  taste  of  such  European  cooking 
as  could  be  provided  by  our  native  cooks. 

There  was  a  slight  frost  during  the  night,  but  the  day 
turned  out  very  fine.  Our  host  accompanied  us  to  the  village 
of  Rongkong,  one  of  the  villages  belonging  to  his  brother, 
and  here  he  said  good-bye  to  us.  The  day's  march  was 
uninteresting.  We  followed  along  the  left  bank  of  the 
Yaru  past  wcll-uTigated  barley  fields,  for  there  was  any 
amount  of  water  here,  until  the  valley  narrowed  and  the 
sides  came  down  steeper,  when  it  became  covered  with 
gorse  bushes.  This  valley  we  descended  for  about  10  miles 
until  it  debouched  into  another,  a  broader  sandy  valley 
where  the  Yaru  changed  its  course  to  the  South.  We  forded 
it  at  a  point  where  it  was  about  90  yards  wide  and  3J  feet 
deep,  and  we  then  sat  down  and  waited  for  our  transport 
to  come  up.  Beyond  us  lay  a  wide  sandy  valley  through 
which  a  stream  flowed  sometimes  on  the  surface,  but  more 
often  underground,  when  it  formed  dangerous  quicksands. 
When  the  transport  came  up,  our  drivers  were  very  anxious 
to  cross  immediately,  as  there  was  a  strong  ^vind  blowing 
and  a  violent  sandstorm.  They  said  that  it  would  be  much 
safer  to  cross  now  that  all  the  fresh  sand  had  blown  over 
the  wet  sand.  In  the  morning,  they  said,  after  a  still  night, 
it  was  very  dangerous,  so  following  their  advice  we  started 
off,  every  one  dressed  up  as  though  for  a  gas  attack, 
with  goggles  over  the  eyes  and  comforters  or  handkerchiefs 
tied  over  the  mouth  and  nose  to  keep  the  sand  out.  At 
first  we  wound  our  way  through  big  sand  dunes,  off  which 
the  sand  was  blowing  like  smoke.  Under  one  of  these  sand 
dunes  we  found  our  coolies  halted  and  lost.     Some  of  the 


64       THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

donkeys,  too,  had  been  unloaded  here,  as  they  could  not 
find  their  way  across  in  the  sandstorm.  After  leaving  the 
dunes,  there  were  wide  stretches  of  wet  sand  to  cross,  over 
which  the  dried  sand  from  the  dunes  was  being  blown  like 
long  wisps  of  smoke  so  that  the  whole  ground  appeared  to 
be  moving.  In  places  where  the  wet  sand  shook  and  quivered 
we  galloped  along.  Eventually  we  and  our  transport  arrived 
on  the  far  side  of  the  plain  in  safety.  It  was  now  too  late, 
however,  to  go  on  any  further,  so  we  camped  on  the  dunes 
near  the  quicksands  in  the  teeth  of  the  gale.  The  sand  was 
being  whirled  up  on  to  us  and  into  our  tents  until  everything 
and  every  one  was  fuU  of  sand.  Water  was  handy,  but 
yak  dung,  our  only  fuel,  was  scarce  and  scanty. 

Just  before  dark  a  very  beautiful  and  lofty  peak  appeared 
to  the  Southwards.  Our  drivers  called  it  Chomo  Uri  (The 
Goddess  of  the  Turquoise  Peak)  and  we  had  many 
discussions  as  to  what  mountain  this  was.  In  the  morning, 
after  taking  its  bearings  carefully,  we  decided  that  this 
could  be  no  other  than  Mount  Everest.  We  found  out 
afterwards  that  the  name,  Chomo  Uri,  was  purely  a  local 
name  for  the  mountain.  Throughout  Tibet  it  was  known 
as  Chomo-lungma — Goddess  Mother  of  the  Country — and 
this  is  its  proper  Tibetan  name. 

Next  morning,  after  an  uncomfortable  and  windy  night, 
we  rode  for  several  miles  across  a  plain  covered  with  sand 
dunes  20  feet  or  more  in  height.  On  reaching  the  entrance 
to  the  valley  of  Bhong-chu,  I  determined  to  separate  myself 
from  the  main  party  in  order  to  explore  a  peak  which  attracted 
my  attention  on  the  North  side  of  the  valley  and  seemed  to 
promise  good  views  of  JMount  Everest  and  its  surroundings. 
After  a  climb  of  some  3,000  feet,  I  found  myself  on  a  spur 
from  which  I  had  a  very  wonderful  view.  The  view  extended 
to  the  East  from  beyond  Chomolhari — over  120  miles  away 
— and  embraced  practically  all  the  high  snow  peaks  from 
Chomolhari  to  Gosainthan,  a  distance  of  some  250  miles. 
In  the  centre  Mount  Everest  stood  up  all  by  itself,  a  wonderful 
peak  towering  above  its  neighbours  and  entirely  without  a 


FROM  KHAMBA  DZONG  TO   TINGRI  65 

rival.  I  spent  four  or  five  hours  at  the  top  of  this  hill,  basking 
in  the  sun,  as  it  was  delightfully  hot.  I  saw  several  swallow- 
tailed  butterflies,  also  a  number  of  bees,  wasps  and  horse 
flies.  Major  Morshead  and  his  surveyors  soon  afterwards 
joined  us,  intending  to  take  advantage  of  the  fine  view. 
In  the  afternoon  I  left  the  peak  and  descended  into  the  valley 
in  search  of  our  new  camp,  for  we  had  now  left  the  Yaru  and 
had  turned  up  into  the  valley  of  the  Bhong-chu,  a  river  that 
flowed  from  the  West,  with  a  very  considerable  volume  of 
water.  As  there  was  rinderpest  in  the  valley,  our  transport 
consisted  now  of  donkeys  only,  many  of  them  being  very 
diminutive  in  size,  but  quite  accustomed  to  carrying  heavy 
loads.  Our  camp  was  pitched  at  a  place  called  Trangso 
Chumbab,  where  there  was  an  old  Chinese  rest-house.  The 
Bhong-chu  here  was  nearly  200  yards  in  width,  but  there 
was  quite  a  good  ford  across  it  to  Tsogo.  Here  we  found 
many  flourishing  villages  and  much  cultivation.  We  seemed 
to  be  entering  a  much  more  populated  part  of  the  country  ; 
from  the  top  of  the  hill  I  counted  in  one  valley  no  less  than 
fifteen  villages  and  quite  a  number  of  willow  groves.  From 
here  a  longish  march  of  18  miles  up  the  valley  of  the  Bhong-chu 
brought  us  to  Kyishong — a  pretty  little  village  on  the  banks 
of  the  river.  There  were  a  few  willow  trees  here  and  a  lot 
of  sea  buckthorn.  I  did  not  keep  to  the  road,  but  started 
early  across  a  big  plain  on  which  I  was  lucky  enough  to 
shoot  a  goa  with  quite  good  horns.  The  day  was  very  hot 
and  sultry,  and  after  crossing  the  plain  I  went  up  a  side 
valley  which  turned  out  to  be  extremely  pretty.  It  was 
very  narrow  and  a  mass  of  wild  rose  bushes.  These  roses 
were  all  of  a  creamy  yellow,  and  every  bush  was  covered 
with  hundreds  of  sweet-smelling  flowers.  There  was  also  a 
curious  black  clematis  and  several  species  of  broom  and 
rock  cistus.  Here  and  there  were  grassy  patches  with 
bubbling  springs  of  crystal  clearness.  Rock  pigeons, 
Brahminy  ducks,  blackbirds  and  numerous  other  varieties 
of  small  birds  came  down  to  drink  here  and  did  not  mind  us 
at  all.     About  two  o'clock  the  weather  suddenly  changed 

M.E.  F 


66       THE   NARRATIVE   OF   THE   EXPEDITION 

and  violent  thunderstorms  started  aU  round  us,  first  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  valley  and  then  on  every  side.  Heavy 
hail  came  down  at  the  same  time  and  the  ground  soon  became 
white.  On  descending  into  the  valley,  I  put  up  what  was 
to  me  a  new  kind  of  partridge,  also  numerous  mountain 
hares.  On  emerging  into  the  main  valley,  I  noticed  a  group 
of  five  large  Chortens.  I  was  told  that  the  centre  Chorten 
had  been  built  over  a  very  bad  demon,  and  that  it  kept 
him  down.  The  other  four  Chortens  at  the  corners  prevented 
his  ever  getting  away. 

The  next  day's  march  to  Shekar  Dzong  was  a  short  one 
of  only  12  miles.  We  followed  the  main  valley  for  about 
6  miles  through  some  interesting  conglomerate  gorges 
alternating  with  open  spaces  covered  with  sea  buckthorn. 
We  then  turned  o&  Northwards  up  a  side  valley  which  led 
us  to  the  town  and  fort  of  Shekar.  This  place  was  very 
finely  situated  on  a  big  rocky  and  sharp-pointed  mountain 
like  an  enlarged  St.  INIichael's  Mount.  The  actual  town 
stands  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  but  a  large  monastery,  holding 
over  400  monks  and  consisting  of  innumerable  buildings,  is 
literally  perched  half-way  up  the  cliff.  The  buildings  are 
connected  by  walls  and  towers  with  the  fort,  which  rises 
above  them  all.  The  fort  again  is  connected  by  turreted 
waUs  with  a  curious  Gothic-like  structure  on  the  summit  of 
the  hill  where  incense  is  offered  up  daily.  On  our  arrival 
the  whole  town  turned  out  and  surrounded  us  with  much 
curiosity,  for  we  were  the  first  Europeans  that  they  had  ever 
seen.  A  small  tent  had  been  pitched  for  us,  but  there  was 
such  a  crowd  round  it  that  I  retreated  to  a  willow  grove 
close  by,  which  was  protected  by  a  wall.  As  the  Jongpen 
had  not  come  to  see  us,  Chheten  Wangdi  went  over  to  find 
him  ;  presently  he  came  along  with  a  basket  of  eggs  and 
with  many  apologies  for  not  coming  before,  but  he  said  that 
he  had  had  no  warning  of  our  arrival.  This  was  but  partly 
true,  for  though  our  passport  did  not  particularly  mention 
this  place,  it  authorised  all  officials  to  help  us  to  their  utmost, 
and  the  Jongpen  certainly  knew  and  had  heard  that  we 


FROM   KHAMBA   DZONG   TO   TINGRI  67 

were  coming.  I  asked  him  to  give  orders  that  no  intoxicating 
spirits  should  be  served  out  to  our  followers,  remembering 
the  trouble  we  had  had  in  one  or  two  places  before  owing  to 
their  all  getting  drunk.  Our  tents  were  all  pitched  inside 
an  enclosure  and  in  the  shade  of  the  willow  grove,  and  above 
us  towered  the  picturesque  buildings  of  the  fort  and  the 
monastery.  This  was  by  far  the  largest  and  most  interesting 
place  that  we  had  yet  come  across.  For  our  mess  tent  we  were 
given  a  fine  Chinese  tent  such  as  they  always  seem  to  keep  for 
the  entertainment  of  guests  of  honour.  As  in  most  places,  there 
were  two  Jongpens  residing  here,  one  lay  and  the  other 
ecclesiastical,  and  finding  that  Tingriwas  under  their  jurisdic- 
tion, we  asked  them  to  issue  orders  to  their  representatives 
at  Tingri  to  help  us  in  every  way  with  supplies  and  transport. 
June  17  we  spent  resting  at  Shekar.  In  the  morning 
Morshead  and  I  went  to  call  on  the  Jongpen  ;  he  lives  in 
a  poor  house  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  his  official  residence 
being  three-quarters  of  the  way  up,  but  he  wisely  prefers 
to  Uve  at  the  bottom,  not  being  very  fond  of  exercise.  He 
was  busy  adding  on  to  his  house,  and  we  were  shown  into 
the  old  part  in  which  he  was  living.  He  gave  us  the  usual 
Tibetan  tea  and  sweetmeats  and  then  insisted  on  our  having 
macaroni  and  meat  seasoned  with  chillies,  which  was 
excellent,  followed  by  junket  served  in  china  bowls.  He 
had  some  very  fine  teacups  of  agate  and  hornblende  schist 
with  finely  chased  silver  covers,  which  I  admired  very  much. 
That  afternoon  several  of  us  went  up  to  visit  the  big  monas- 
tery of  Shekar  Cho-te.  This  consisted  of  a  great  number 
of  buildings  terraced  one  above  the  other  on  a  very  steep 
rocky  slope.  A  path  along  the  face  of  the  rock  brought 
us  to  several  archways  under  which  we  passed.  We  then 
had  to  go  up  and  down  some  picturesque  but  very  steep  and 
narrow  streets  until  we  came  to  a  large  courtyard.  On 
one  side  of  this  was  the  main  temple.  In  this  temple  were 
several  gilt  statues  of  Buddha  decorated  all  over  with 
turquoises  and  other  precious  stones,  and  behind  them 
a  huge  figure  of  Buddha  quite  50  feet  high.     Every  year, 


68       THE   NARRATIVE   OF   THE   EXPEDITION 

they  told  us,  they  had  to  re-gild  his  face.  Around  were 
eight  curious  figures  about  10  feet  high  and  dressed  in  quaint 
flounces  which  they  said  were  the  guardians  of  the  shrine. 
We  then  went  up  steep  and  slippery  ladders,  in  almost 
pitch  darkness,  and  came  out  on  a  platform  opposite  the 
face  of  the  great  Buddha.  Here  were  some  beautifully 
chased  silver  teapots  and  other  interesting  pieces  of  silver, 
richly  decorated  in  relief.  Inside  the  shrine,  which  was 
very  dark,  the  smell  of  rancid  butter  was  almost  overpowering 
as  aU  the  lamps  burnt  butter.  The  official  head  of  the 
monastery  showed  us  round.  He  was  apparently  appointed 
from  Lhasa  and  was  responsible  for  all  the  revenues  and 
financial  deahngs  of  the  monastery.  We  were  given  very 
buttery  tea  in  the  roof  courtyard,  which  was  a  pleasant 
spot,  and  here  I  photographed  a  group  of  several  monks. 
They  had  never  seen  a  camera  or  photographs  before,  but 
they  had  heard  that  such  a  thing  was  possible  and  were 
very  much  interested  in  it.  Before  leaving  we  went  in  to 
see  the  Head  Lama  who  had  lived  over  sixty-six  years  in 
this  monastery.  He  was  looked  upon  as  being  extremely 
holy  and  as  the  re-incarnation  of  a  former  abbot,  and  they 
therefore  practically  worshipped  him.  There  was  only  one 
tooth  left  in  his  mouth,  but  for  all  that  he  had  a  very  pleasant 
smile.  All  around  his  room  were  silver-gilt  Chortens  inlaid 
with  turquoises  and  precious  stones  and  incense  was  being 
burnt  everywhere.  After  much  persuasion  the  other  monks 
induced  him  to  come  outside  and  have  his  photograph 
taken,  telling  him  that  he  was  an  old  man,  and  that  his 
time  on  earth  was  now  short,  and  they  would  like  to  have 
a  picture  of  him  to  remember  him  by.  He  was  accordingly 
brought  out,  dressed  up  in  robes  of  beautiful  golden  brocades, 
with  priceless  silk  Chinese  hangings  arranged  behind  him 
while  he  sat  on  a  raised  dais  with  his  dorje  and  his  bell  in 
front  of  him,  placed  upon  a  finely  carved  Chinese  table.  The 
fame  of  this  photograph  spread  throughout  the  country 
and  in  places  hundreds  of  miles  away  I  was  asked  for  photo- 
graphs of  the  Old  Abbot  of  Shekar  Cho-te,  nor  could  I  give 


I'llK    AHBOT    i>|-    ShKKAK    ('llDTK. 


FROM  KHAJVIBA  DZONG  TO  TINGRI  69 

a  more  welcome  present  at  any  house  than  a  photograph 
of  the  Old  Abbot.  Being  looked  upon  as  a  saint,  he  was 
worshipped,  and  they  would  put  these  little  photographs 
in  shrines  and  burn  incense  in  front  of  them. 

About  midnight  that  night  I  was  suddenly  awakened 
by  yells  and  loud  shouting  and  hammering  close  to  my 
tent  and  next  to  that  in  which  Bullock  and  Mallory  were 
sleeping.  The  latter  turned  out  and  found  that  a  Tibetan 
had  seized  an  ice  axe  and  a  mallet  and  was  busy  hammering 
on  our  store  boxes.  He  gave  chase,  but  failed  to  catch 
the  intruder.  Some  of  our  coolies,  however,  found  out 
where  he  had  gone  to,  and  Chheten  Wangdi  had  him  handed 
over  to  the  Jongpen.  On  investigation  in  the  morning  the 
man  proved  to  be  a  madman  whom  his  parents  always  kept 
locked  up  during  nights  when  the  moon  was  full,  but  he  had 
managed  to  escape,  so  we  handed  him  back  to  his  family. 

Our  transport  was  very  slow  in  arriving,  and  there  were 
so  many  delays  that  it  was  midday  before  the  procession 
finally  moved  off.  The  loads,  too,  were  very  badly  put  on 
and  kept  falling  off,  also  the  transport  was  quite  the  worst 
that  we  had  yet  had.  For  about  5  miles  the  path  went 
up  and  down  hill  and  through  much  sand  until  we  came 
to  the  bridge  over  the  Bhong-chu.  This  bridge  consisted  of 
four  or  five  stout  pillars  of  loose  stones  which  acted  as  piers, 
on  which  were  laid  a  few  pieces  of  wood,  on  which  flat  stones 
were  placed.  It  was  a  rough  form  of  bridge,  but  served 
at  ordinary  times  for  its  purpose.  During  the  course  of 
this  summer,  however,  after  heavy  rain,  these  piers  so 
dammed  up  the  water  as  to  cause  it  to  rise  some  4  or  5  feet 
on  the  upper  side  of  them  with  the  result  that  the  immense 
weight  of  water  swept  the  whole  bridge  away.  Bullock 
and  Mallory  with  half  a  dozen  coolies  had  left  early  in  the 
morning,  intending  to  bivouac  out  for  a  couple  of  nights 
and  climb  one  of  the  hills  to  the  South  of  the  Bhong-chu 
in  order  to  get  a  view  of  Mount  Everest.  After  we  had  gone 
about  5  miles  we  met  them  close  to  the  bridge,  as  they  had 
lost  their  way  and  had  been  walking  for  about  15  miles  : 


70       THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

not  having  found  the  bridge,  they  had  forded  the  river 
and  had  got  wet  up  to  their  necks  in  crossing  it.  At  dusk 
we  reached  the  village  of  Tsakor,  where  we  found  a  tent 
pitched  for  us,  and  here  we  spent  the  night.  Our  transport 
did  not  turn  up  tiU  nearly  nine  o'clock,  and  so  we  all  slept 
in  the  mess  tent.  From  here  to  Tingri  was  still  another 
20  miles — the  path  following  the  right  bank  of  the  Bhong-chu 
the  whole  way.  In  places  the  river  was  as  much  as  200 
yards  wide  and  flowed  very  sluggishly.  We  were  told  that 
the  waters  were  very  low,  but  that  next  month,  when  the 
rains  had  broken,  the  river  often  filled  the  whole  of  the 
bottom  of  the  valley.  On  the  way  we  passed  some  very 
handsome  black-necked  cranes  as  large  as  the  Saurus  crane. 
These  had  black  heads  and  bills,  with  red  eyes,  light  grey 
bodies  and  black  tails  with  fine  feathers.  On  this  march 
the  midges  were  dreadfully  annoying  the  whole  way,  and  we 
were  surrounded  \\dth  clouds  of  them  the  whole  time.  Their 
bite  was  very  tiresome  and  extremely  irritating.  On  the 
way  we  passed  a  Mongolian  who  had  taken  eleven  months 
in  coming  from  Lhasa  and  who  was  on  his  way  to  Nepal. 
His  method  of  progression  was  by  throwing  himself  at  full 
length  down  on  the  ground.  He  then  got  up  and  at  the  spot 
where  his  hands  touched  the  ground  repeated  the  motion 
again.  As  we  approached  Tingri,  the  valley  widened  out 
and  bent  round  to  the  South.  Tingri  itself  was  situated 
on  the  side  of  a  small  hill  in  the  middle  of  a  great  plain, 
from  which,  looking  to  the  South,  was  visible  the  wonderful 
chain  of  snowy  peaks,  many  of  them  over  25,000  feet  in 
height,  which  extends  Westwards  from  Mount  Everest.  We 
crossed  the  Ra-chu — a  tributary  of  the  Bhong-chu,  partly  by 
bridges  and  partly  by  fords  ;  it  was  split  up  into  a  number 
of  small  and  very  muddy  channels  that  took  their  rise  from 
the  Kyetrak  Glacier.  Tingri  was  to  be  our  first  base  for 
reconnoitring  the  Northern  and  North-western  approaches 
to  Mount  PJvcrcst.  It  was  June  19  when  we  arrived  there, 
so  that  it  had  taken  us  just  a  month's  travelling  from 
Darjeeling  to  perform  this  part  of  our  journey. 


CHAPTER  IV 

TINGRI  AND  THE   COUNTRY  TO  THE   SOUTH 

Tingri  is  a  place  of  some  importance,  with  a  considerable 
trade  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year.  It  is  the  last  place 
of  any  size  on  this  side  of  the  Nepalese  frontier  and  boasts 
of  a  military  governor.  The  garrison,  however,  when  we 
visited  it,  consisted  only  of  a  sergeant  and  four  or  five 
soldiers.  There  were  about  three  hundred  houses  in  Tingri, 
all  clustered  together  on  the  slopes  of  a  small  isolated  hill 
standing  in  the  middle  of  the  great  plain.  On  the  top  of 
the  hill  was  the  old  Chinese  fort,  now  all  falling  into 
ruin,  but  still  littered  with  papers  and  books,  written  in 
Chinese  characters,  left  behind  by  the  Chinese  on  their  hasty 
departure.  Inside  were  quaint  mural  frescoes  of  curious  old 
men  riding  stags  or  winged  dragons  painted  in  many  colours. 
All  the  way  up  the  valley  of  the  Bhong-chu  we  had  seen  ruins 
of  walls  and  evidences  of  much  fighting.  These  aU  dated 
back,  we  were  told,  to  the  time  of  the  Nepalese  invasions 
of  Tibet  in  the  eighteenth  century  when  the  Gurkhas  pene- 
trated so  far  into  Tibet  that  they  actually  got  to  Shigatse, 
and  the  Tibetans  had  to  call  upon  the  Chinese  Empire  for 
help.  The  Chinese  came  into  the  country  with  a  large 
army,  defeated  the  Gurkhas,  drove  them  out  of  Tibet  and 
crossed  the  Himalayas  with  a  considerable  army  into  Nepal, 
an  extraordinary  military  feat  considering  the  enormous 
difficulty  of  moving  an  army  in  these  unhospitable  regions 
over  the  high  mountain  passes  through  which  it  is  approached. 
The  Chinese,  after  this,  never  left  Tibet  until  they  were 
driven  out  by  the  Tibetans  only  a  few  years  ago.  In  the  hills 
round  Tingri  we  came  across  many  evidences  of  the  fighting 
which  then  took  place.     This  probably  accounted  for  the 

71 


72       THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

large  number  of  ruined  and  deserted  villages  that  we  saw 
in  the  valleys  around.  At  the  foot  of  the  hill  was  a  large 
Chinese  rest-house  which  was  only  used  to  house  Tibetan 
officials  when  they  came  there  on  duty.  The  Tibetans 
themselves  did  not  like  to  live  in  or  use  the  place,  as  many 
Chinese  had  died  there  and  they  thought  that  their  ghosts 
haunted  the  spot.  This  rest-house  was,  however,  swept 
out  and  prepared  for  our  reception,  as  we  had  told  the 
Tibetans  that  we  should  probably  stay  there  for  some  time 
and  should  want  a  house  to  protect  us  from  the  wind  and 
to  provide  a  dark  room  for  developing  our  photographs. 
The  rest-house  consisted  of  three  courtyards  in  the  outer 
one  we  put  the  coolies,  in  the  middle  one  the  surveyors, 
and  the  inner  one  we  kept  for  ourselves.  In  appearance 
the  building  was  quite  picturesque  with  its  mural  paint- 
ings of  flying  dogs  and  fierce  dragons ;  but  in  spite  of 
its  picturesqueness  outside  and  its  handsome  appearance,  the 
rooms  inside  were  small,  and  when  the  rain  came  it  poured 
through  the  roof  and  our  beds  had  to  be  shifted  many  times 
during  the  night  to  avoid  the  drips  of  water.  It  however 
provided  an  excellent  dark  room  for  us  after  we  had  well 
plastered  the  waUs,  the  floor  and  the  ceiling  with  mud  and 
got  rid  of  the  dust  of  ages.  To  do  any  photographic  work 
in  Tibet  a  house  is  a  necessity,  as  with  the  violent  wind 
that  blows  every  day  all  one's  belongings  get  covered  with 
dust  which  would  ruin  any  negative.  At  first  we  found 
water  a  great  difficulty  as  the  local  water  was  full  of  mud, 
but  we  eventually  discovered  a  beautifully  clear  spring, 
about  half  a  mile  away,  which  bubbled  up  in  a  deep  bluey 
green  basin,  and  this  water  we  used  always,  both  for  drinking 
and  for  photographic  work.  Tingri  had  many  advantages 
as  a  base.  Stores,  supplies  and  transport  were  always 
available  there,  as  it  was  the  headquarters  of  the  district. 
It  also  provided  an  easy  means  of  approach  to  Mount 
Everest  from  the  North-west  and  to  the  high  group  of 
mountains  that  lay  to  the  West  of  Mount  Everest.  After 
sorting    out    all    our    stores    and    equipment  and  seeing  in 


TINGRI  AND   COUNTRY  TO   SOUTH  73 

what  state  they  were  after  the  journey,  our  next  business 
was  the  making  of  a  dark  room,  as  we  had  taken  many 
photographs  on  the  journey  that  required  developing.  The 
weather  at  this  time  was  very  fine,  but  the  Tibetans  kept 
on  teUing  us  that  the  rainy  season  ought  to  be  starting,  so 
we  determined  as  soon  as  possible  to  send  out  parties  in 
different  directions  to  make  the  most  of  the  favourable 
opportunity.  The  first  morning  after  our  arrival  we  were 
up  on  the  top  of  the  hill  by  six  o'clock  in  the  hope  of  getting 
a  good  view  to  the  South,  but  the  clouds  were  already  over 
most  of  the  mountains.  Everest  we  could  see  quite  clearly, 
and  Cho-Uyo,  the  great  26,800  feet  peak  that  lies  to  the 
West  of  Mount  Everest.  The  Depon  here,  who  was  acting 
as  the  Governor  of  the  place,  was  a  nice  young  fellow  and 
very  cheery,  and  later  on  I  got  to  know  him  very  well  and 
went  over  to  his  house  and  was  entertained  by  him  and 
his  wife.  He  told  me  that  the  Tibetans  still  paid  tribute 
to  Nepal  for  all  that  part  of  the  country,  and  that  the 
amount  they  had  to  pay  was  the  equivalent  of  5,000  rupees 
per  annum.  The  Nepalese  kept  a  head-man  at  Tingri  and 
another  at  Nyenyam  to  deal  with  all  criminal  cases  and 
offences  committed  by  Nepalese  subjects  when  in  Tibet. 
I  found  later  on  that  the  Tibetans  were  very  frightened 
of  the  Nepalese,  or  of  having  any  dealings  with  a  Gurkha. 
I  took  photographs  of  the  Depon's  wife  and  all  their  children, 
and  of  his  mother-in-law,  which  delighted  them  immensely  ; 
the  wife  at  first  was  very  shy  of  coming  forward,  but  after 
many  tears  and  protestations  her  husband  finally  induced 
her  to  be  photographed.  The  great  semi-circular  head- 
dresses that  the  women  wear  are  usually  covered  with 
turquoises,  and  coral,  and  often  with  strings  of  seed 
pearls  across  them.  Round  their  necks  hang  long  chains 
of  either  turquoise  or  coral  beads,  sometimes  mixed  with 
lumps  of  amber.  Suspended  round  the  neck  by  a  shorter 
chain  is  generally  a  verj^  elaborately  decorated  charm  box, 
those  belonging  to  the  richer  or  upper  classes  being  of  gold 
inlaid  with  turquoises,  the  poorer  people  having  them  made 


74       THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

of  silver  with  poorer  turquoises.  The  officials,  as  a  rule, 
have  a  long  ear-ring,  4  or  5  inches  long,  of  turquoises  and 
pearls,  suspended  from  the  left  ear,  while  in  the  right  ear 
they  wear  a  single  turquoise  of  very  good  quality.  Nearly 
every  one  carries  a  rosary,  with  which  their  hands  are  playing 
about  the  whole  day.  We  were  told  that  the  laws  governing 
marriage  in  those  parts  were  strictly  regulated.  Owing 
to  the  excessive  number  of  males,  a  form  of  polyandry 
prevails.  If  there  were  four  brothers  in  a  family,  and  the 
eldest  one  married  a  wife,  his  wife  would  also  be  the  property 
of  the  three  younger  brothers  ;  but  if  the  second  or  third 
brother  married,  their  wives  would  be  common  only  to 
themselves  and  their  youngest  brother.  In  Tibet,  when, 
owing  to  the  severe  climate,  digging  is  impossible  for  about 
six  months  in  the  year,  if  a  man  dies  his  body  is  handed 
over  to  professional  corpse  butchers,  of  whom  there  are 
one  or  two  in  every  village.  These  butchers  cut  the  body 
up  into  small  pieces,  which  are  taken  out  on  to  a  hill-top 
and  scattered  about  for  the  birds  of  the  air  or  the  wolves 
to  devour.  If  by  any  chance  there  is  a  delay  in  consuming 
these  remains,  this  is  looked  upon  as  a  sign  that  the  man 
has  led  an  evil  life  during  his  lifetime. 

On  June  22  WoUaston  rejoined  us  again.  He  had 
escorted  Raeburn  to  Lachen,  and  had  there  arranged  for 
an  assistant  surgeon  to  come  up  and  take  him  back  as  far 
as  Gangtok.  Wollaston  had  then  come  on  as  fast  as  possible 
to  rejoin  us.  His  kit  did  not  arrive  till  the  following  day,  as 
he  had  ridden  in  direct  from  Shekar  Dzong.  The  following 
day  Bullock  and  Mallory  left  us,  making  direct  for  Mount 
Everest,  and  intending  to  reconnoitre  the  North  and  North- 
western slopes.  Looked  at  from  here  it  is  certainly  a 
very  wonderful  mountain,  as  it  seems  to  stand  up  all  by 
itself,  but  from  this  side  it  looks  far  too  steep  to  be  climbed. 
On  June  25  Wheeler  and  Heron  went  off  to  Kyetrak,  from 
which  point  Wheeler  was  to  begin  his  photographic  survey. 
I  had  intended  to  start  the  following  day  and  join  them, 
but  the  acid  hypo  that  I  had  been  using  for  fixing  had  given 


TINGRI  AND  COUNTRY  TO   SOUTH  75 

off  so  many  sulphur  fumes  that  I  had  been  quite  "  gassed  " 
for  several  days  and  had  lost  my  voice  in  consequence. 
Unfortunately  my  orderly  and  Wheeler's  bearer,  who  were 
both  Mahommedans,  were  taken  ill  with  enteric.  Wheeler's 
bearer  was  in  a  very  bad  way,  and  a  few  days  after  my 
departure  he  died,  but  my  orderly,  after  a  bad  attack, 
recovered,  and  when  I  returned  three  weeks  later  he  was 
able  to  be  up  and  to  walk  about  a  little.  As  Wollaston 
was  likely  to  be  detained  here  for  some  time  owing  to  these 
cases  of  sickness,  and  as  Morshead  wanted  to  get  in  some 
surveying  all  round  Tingri,  I  thought  it  would  be  a  good 
opportunity  to  visit  the  different  parties  that  we  had  sent 
out,  and  also  to  get,  if  possible,  some  information  about 
Kharta,  which  I  intended  should  be  our  second  base.  The 
coolies  that  we  had  still  with  us  at  Tingri  were  kept  busy 
by  Wollaston,  and  daily  they  would  bring  in  rats,  birds, 
lizards,  beetles,  or  fish  which  they  had  collected  for  him. 
The  local  people  would  not  make  any  attempt  to  collect 
these  animals,  as  they  said  it  was  against  their  rehgion.  On 
June  26  I  started  out  to  the  South  and  camped  the  first 
night  at  Sharto,  a  small  village  about  9  miles  across  the 
plain  to  the  South  of  Tingri.  On  the  way  we  passed  numbers 
of  bees  that  seemed  to  be  coming  up  out  of  the  ground  and 
swarming.  These  were  all  of  a  very  light  brown  colour. 
Sharto  is  only  a  small  village,  but  there  are  no  other  houses 
between  it  and  Kyetrak,  so  that  it  was  necessary  to  stop 
there.  As  the  wind  always  blows  with  great  strength  here, 
the  tents  were  pitched  within  some  sheltering  walls.  In 
every  place  that  we  went  to  now  we  managed  to  get  some 
kind  of  green  food  which  was  turned  into  spinach  ;  a  small 
kind  of  weed  that  grows  in  the  barley  fields  was  generally 
thus  used.  At  other  times  we  tried  turnip  leaves,  or.  again, 
when  we  were  higher  and  above  the  Hmits  of  cultivation, 
the  young  shoots  of  the  nettle  which  grows  up  to  17,000 
feet,  and  is  really  very  good.  I  had  taken  with  me  this  time 
a  Tibetan  whom  we  had  picked  up  on  the  way.  He  was 
called  Poo,  and  he  turned  out  to  be  an  excellent  cook  who 


76       THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

could  make  any  of  the  Tibetan  dishes.  As  he  was  a  sensible 
fellow,  and  very  seldom  drunk,  I  made  a  good  deal  of  use 
of  him.  He  accompanied  me  in  all  my  wanderings,  and  I 
could  not  have  found  a  more  useful  servant  when  travelling, 
as  he  never  seemed  to  mind  the  cold  or  the  height  and  could 
always  produce  a  fire  of  some  kind,  even  though  he  had 
forgotten  to  bring  any  matches.  That  evening  at  Sharto 
there  was  a  curious  false  sunset  in  the  East  with  rays 
of  light  in  the  deep  purple  of  the  sky.  All  the  hills  stood 
out  with  wonderful  sharpness,  and  the  colours  were  very 
beautiful.  Towards  nightfall  we  saw  a  number  of  kiang, 
which  came  quite  close  up  to  the  camp  and  started  feeding 
on  the  barley  fields  in  spite  of  the  pillars  of  stones  and  the 
strings  which  are  put  round  the  fields  to  keep  both  them 
and  the  hares  away  from  the  crops.  The  next  morning  I 
started  off  early  as  I  intended  to  climb  a  hill  17,700  feet, 
on  the  way  to  Kyetrak.  This  hill,  however,  proved  further 
off  than  I  anticipated,  and  we  had  some  difficulty  in  crossing 
a  glacier  stream,  so  that  I  did  not  get  up  to  the  top  till  9 
a.m.,  by  which  time  the  clouds  had  hidden  a  great  part  of 
the  mountains  to  the  South  of  us.  The  view,  nevertheless, 
was  extraordinarily  fine.  The  top  of  Everest  just  showed 
above  a  great  icy  range  to  the  East  of  us,  and  South-east 
was  that  great  group  of  mountains  of  which  Cho-Uyo,  26,800 
feet,  is  the  highest.  Immense  granite  precipices  descended 
sheer  for  several  thousand  feet  until  they  reached  great 
winding  glaciers,  while  from  over  the  Khombu  Pass  long  wisps 
of  cloud  came  sailing  round  these  peaks  and  eventually  hid 
them  from  our  view.  To  the  North  the  view  extended 
right  up  to  the  watershed  of  the  Brahmaputra,  80  to  100 
miles  distant.  The  different  colours  of  the  hills,  the  light 
and  shade  from  the  clouds,  all  formed  a  charming  picture. 
Once  over  17,000  feet,  I  met  my  old  friend  the  dwarf  blue 
poppy  {Meconopsis)  and  many  pretty  white,  blue  and  yellow 
saxifrages  that  grew  on  the  rocks.  Descending  from  this 
hill  into  the  Kyetrak  Valley,  we  passed  a  number  of  goa 
which   were   quite  tame,   but   unfortunately   they  were  all 


TINGRI  AND   COUNTRY   TO   SOUTH  77 

females.  We  had  two  more  big  glacial  torrents  to  cross 
which  later  in  the  afternoon  would  probably  have  been 
impassable  as  by  that  time  they  would  have  risen  another 
2  feet,  due  to  the  melting  of  the  snow  and  the  ice  by  the 
hot  sun  in  the  morning;  indeed,  we  only  just  managed  to 
get  across  when  we  did.  The  main  Kyetrak  stream  comes 
from  the  great  glacier  that  descends  from  Cho-Uyo  and  the 
Khombu  Pass.  Opposite  the  village  of  Kyetrak  it  is  luckily 
divided  into  a  number  of  small  streams,  so  that  it  is  usually 
possible  to  get  across  it,  though  in  the  afternoons  it  is  always 
somewhat  difficult. 

This  village  Hes  at  a  height  of  16,000  feet,  at  the  foot 
of  the  Khombu  or  Nangba  Pass  and  the  Pusi  Pass.  The 
former  is  a  high  glacier-covered  pass,  about  19,000  feet, 
that  leads  into  the  Khombu  Valley  in  Nepal.  The  other, 
the  Pusi  Pass,  is  a  much  lower  and  easier  pass  that  leads 
into  the  Rongshar  Valley.  Between  these  two  passes  lies 
a  very  beautiful  glacier-covered  peak  called  Chorabsang. 
Here  at  Kyetrak  I  met  Heron  and  Wheeler  encamped  in 
the  shelter  of  some  walls  close  to  the  village,  which  consisted 
of  a  few  dirty  stone  houses  and  a  big  Chorten.  The  people 
told  me  that  they  lived  here  all  the  year  round,  and  that 
they  owned  the  grazing  for  many  miles  to  the  North  and 
possessed  herds  of  yaks  several  thousand  in  number.  Traffic 
could  be  kept  up  over  these  passes,  they  said,  at  all  times 
of  the  year,  though  only  with  great  difficulty,  and  with 
much  danger,  whole  convoys  being  sometimes  wiped  out  by 
blizzards  when  trying  to  cross  the  Khombu  Pass,  as  the 
fine  powdery  snow  is  blown  down  into  their  faces  from  every 
direction  and  they  finally  get  suffocated  by  it.  That  night 
there  was  a  sharp  frost,  and  the  following  morning  Heron 
and  I  started  to  go  up  towards  the  Khombu  Pass,  following 
at  first  the  East  side  of  the  Kyetrak  Glacier.  For  about 
6  or  7  miles  we  rode  beside  the  great  moraine  that 
extended  along  the  East  side  of  this  glacier  ;  every  now  and 
then  we  climbed  up  on  to  a  mound  on  the  edge  of  the  glacier 
in  order  to  take  photographs  of  it.     The  ice  was  all  torn 


78       THE   NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

and  riven  into  wonderful  shapes  and  opposite  us  was  the 
finely  crevassed  peak  of  Chorabsang.  I  pushed  on,  leaving 
Heron  to  come  on  at  a  slower  pace,  as  I  was  anxious  to  get 
to  the  top  of  the  pass  before  the  clouds  should  have  come 
up  and  hidden  all  the  views.  Every  day  it  cost  us  a  race 
to  get  up  to  a  point  of  vantage  before  the  clouds  should 
have  come  up  and  hidden  everything.  Leavmg  the  pony 
behind,  with  one  coolie,  I  pressed  forward  for  some  4  miles 
up  a  very  stony  and  slippery  moraine  on  the  glacier.  Here 
were  many  curious  ice  formations — ice  tables  with  a  big 
flat  rock  superimposed,  curious  upright  pillars  of  ice,  and 
the  main  glacier  itself  was  worn  by  stone  and  water  into  the 
weirdest  shapes  and  forms.  In  places,  too,  we  came  across 
that  curious  formation  which  in  South  America  is  called 
Nieve  Penitentes.  As  we  passed  onwards,  new  glaciers 
opened  up  in  every  vaUej^  The  views  up  some  of  these 
side  valleys,  which  often  widened  out  into  great  amphi- 
theatres, were  very  grand,  especially  that  of  the  huge  glacier 
that  swept  down  from  below  the  rock  waUs  of  Cho-Uyo. 

On  arriving  at  the  end  of  the  moraine,  the  boots  that 
my  coolie  was  wearing  came  to  pieces  and  he  said  he  could 
go  no  further  across  the  snow,  so  shouldering  the  big  camera, 
I  started  off  alone.  At  first  the  ice  was  firm,  but  soon  I 
came  to  soft  snow  and  much  water  underneath  it :  they 
made  the  going  very  unpleasant  and  I  kept  floundering 
about  up  to  my  knees  in  snow  and  water.  At  length  I  came 
to  a  large  crevasse  along  the  edge  of  which  I  followed  for 
over  half  a  mile  as  most  of  the  snow  bridges  across  it  were 
unsafe.  At  last  I  found  my  way  across  and  by  climbing  on 
to  some  rocks  was  able  to  look  over  the  top  of  the  pass  and 
down  into  Nepal.  The  height  of  the  pass  seemed  to  be 
about  19,000  feet,  and  as  the  day  was  very  hot,  I  lay  down 
and  went  sound  asleep,  only  waking  up  when  it  began  to 
snow.  I  then  started,  none  too  soon,  on  my  homeward 
journey  :  all  the  way  back  snow  fell  heavily.  I  was  very 
thankful  to  meet  my  coolie  again  and  to  hand  over  the 
camera  to  him :    carrying  a  camera  for  five  or  six  hours  in 


TINGRI  AND   COUNTRY   TO   SOUTH  79 

soft  snow  at  a  height  of  over  18,000  feet  is  a  heavy  tax  upon 
the  endurance  of  anyone  unaccustomed  to  carrying  weights. 
Wheeler  meanwhile  had  moved  up  his  camp  from  Kyetrak 
to  a  spot  on  the  moraine  East  of  the  glacier  and  intended 
to  spend  a  week  or  fortnight  in  that  valley. 

The  next  morning  Heron  and  I  started  to  go  over  the 
Pusi  Pass  (Marmot  Pass),  so  called  because  of  the  number 
of  marmots  that  frequent  the  Southern  slopes.  After 
fording  the  Kyetrak  River,  we  climbed  up  the  moraine  to 
the  West  of  the  Kyetrak  Glacier  and  then  turned  up  some 
easy  grass  hills  until  we  came  to  the  top  of  the  pass,  17,700 
feet.  Here  at  the  very  top  were  growing  some  delightful 
little  dwarf  forget-me-nots — not  an  inch  high — also  many 
white  and  yellow  saxifrages.  Most  of  the  views  were 
unfortunately  hidden  by  clouds,  though  one  fine  triple- 
headed  peak  showed  up  well  to  the  South.  We  passed 
several  flocks  of  female  burhel  {Ovis  nahura),  which  were 
quite  tame,  and  allowed  us  to  ride  up  to  within  50  yards 
of  them.  The  hillsides  were  bare  at  first  and  grassy  and 
the  air  felt  distinctly  cold  and  damp.  We  now  commenced 
our  long  descent,  and  at  16,000  feet  began  to  meet  with 
juniper  bushes  and  many  dwarf  rhododendi^ons.  As  we 
got  lower,  many  more  varieties  of  bushes  appeared.  There 
were  two  or  three  kinds  of  berberis,  loniceras,  white  and  pink 
spiraeas,  and  quantities  of  white  roses  ;  besides  these  were 
masses  of  primulas  and  anemones,  and  pink,  white  or  mauve 
geraniums.  We  now  followed  the  right  bank  of  the  Shung- 
chu,  a  great  glacial  torrent,  which  joined  by  several  others 
became  an  unfordable  stream.  The  path  was  well  engineered, 
sometimes  close  to  the  river,  and  sometimes  built  out  on 
rocks  high  above  the  stream.  All  of  a  sudden  the  valley 
narrowed  into  a  great  gorge.  We  had  left  all  the  granites 
and  slates  behind  and  had  suddenly  come  into  the  zone 
of  the  gneiss,  which  extended  many  miles  to  the  South. 
A  little  way  further  down,  at  a  place  where  two  other  valleys 
meet,  we  caught  sight  of  some  green  barley  fields  \ying  round 
the  small  village  of  Tasang  where  we  encamped  on  a  terrace 


80       THE   NARRATIVE   OF   THE   EXPEDITION 

for  the  night.  We  were  now  at  a  height  of  only  13,300 
feet,  and  were  able  to  get  fresh  eggs  and  vegetables  again. 
It  was  a  great  pleasure  once  more  to  have  wood  fires  in 
place  of  the  yak  dung  with  its  acrid  smoke,  which  caused 
aU  one's  food  to  taste  unpleasantly.  Here  we  used  as  fuel 
the  aromatic  wood  of  the  juniper. 

This  vaUey  is  looked  upon  as  a  holy  one,  owing  to  the 
number  of  juniper  bushes  that  grow  in  it,  and  several 
hermits  and  nuns  had  taken  up  their  abode  in  it  and 
shut  themselves  up  in  caves  in  order  to  meditate.  The 
nearest  village  used  to  supply  them  with  food,  and  morning 
and  evening  could  be  seen  ascending  the  blue  smoke  of  the 
juniper,  which  they  burnt  as  incense  before  the  entrances  of 
their  dwelling  places.  There  was  a  hermit  who  lived  close 
to  the  village  and  whose  cave  we  could  see  high  up  in  the 
rocks  above.  The  villagers  told  us  that  after  meditating 
for  a  period  of  ten  years,  he  would  be  able  to  live  on 
only  ten  grains  of  barley  a  day,  and  they  were  looking 
forward  to  that  day.  There  was  another  anchorite  female 
who  was  supposed  to  have  lived  here  for  138  years  and 
who  was  greatly  revered.  She  had  forbidden  any  of  the 
animals  in  the  valley  to  be  kiUed,  and  that  was  the  reason 
why  the  flocks  of  burhel  we  had  passed  were  so  extremely 
tame.  The  next  day,  giving  our  transport  a  rest.  Heron 
and  I  walked  for  7  or  8  miles  down  the  valley.  On  the 
opposite  side  of  the  valley  the  only  trees  were  birches  and 
willow,  and  it  was  curious  that,  at  these  comparatively 
low  heights,  there  were  no  large  rhododendrons  or  fir  trees. 
On  the  other  side  of  the  valley,  the  vegetation  consisted 
wholly  of  juniper,  berberis  or  wild  roses.  We  descended 
to  12,000  feet,  most  of  the  time  going  through  narrow  gorges. 
At  one  place  we  came  across  a  number  of  gooseberry  bushes 
covered  with  young  gooseberries,  of  which  we  gathered  a 
sufficient  supply  to  last  us  for  several  days.  The  rose  bushes 
were  charming  all  the  way.  At  first  they  were  all  of  the 
white  creamy  coloured  variety,  but  lower  down  we  came 
on  the  big  red  one  with  flowers  often  more  than  3  inches 


TINGRI  AND   COUNTRY  TO   SOUTH  81 

in  diameter.  Wherever  there  were  springs  of  water  there 
grew  masses  of  anemones  and  yellow  primulas.  We  now 
returned  to  our  camp  at  Tasang,  and  rain  then  started  and 
continued  the  remainder  of  the  day.  The  people  told 
us  that  this  valley  was  passable  for  animals  for  three  days' 
journey,  after  which  the  river  entered  into  some  terrible 
gorges  down  which  it  was  only  just  possible  for  a  coolie  to 
get  along,  and  these  latter  gorges  formed  the  boundary 
between  Tibet  and  Nepal.  On  July  1  we  started  to  return 
to  Kyetrak  ;  the  morning  was  misty  when  we  started,  and 
though  the  higher  peaks  were  all  hidden  in  the  clouds,  the 
sun  shone  brightly  and  the  day  was  quite  hot.  Our  kit 
did  not  arrive  till  between  five  and  six  o'clock,  and  the  yaks 
had  a  great  deal  of  trouble  in  getting  across  the  Kyetrak 
River,  as  it  had  risen  considerably.  Wheeler  was  still  at 
his  high  camp  further  up  the  valley,  waiting  for  a  really  clear 
day.  The  clouds,  too,  were  his  great  enemies,  as  they  came 
up  very  early  every  morning  from  over  the  Khombu  Pass. 
From  here  Heron  and  I  had  decided  to  go  on  and  see 
how  Mallory  and  Bullock  had  been  faring  in  the  next  valley, 
so  the  next  morning,  after  breakfasting  at  5  a.m.,  we  started 
off.  It  was  one  of  the  coldest  mornings  we  had  had,  with 
a  very  hard  frost,  and  being  on  the  shady  side  of  the  valley 
we  did  not  get  the  sun  till  several  hours  after  we  had  started. 
After  going  down  the  valley  for  about  6  miles,  we  turned 
off  to  the  East  and  crossed  several  easy  passes,  the  higher 
of  them,  the  Lamna  La,  being  16,900  feet.  The  country 
was  very  barren  of  flowers  and  vegetation,  but  there  was 
a  certain  amount  of  grazing  for  yaks  and  sheep.  The  march 
to  Zambu  was  a  fairly  long  one  of  20  miles,  but  the  yaks 
came  along  well.  This  was  a  more  prosperous-looking 
village  than  most  of  them,  and  the  houses  were  all  white- 
washed. We  were  still  too  high  for  barley  fields  as  we  were 
just  16,000  feet,  but  the  wealth  of  the  village  lay  in  its  herds 
of  yaks  and  sheep  ;  the  villagers  told  us  they  owned  3,000 
yaks.  Shepherds  in  this  country  are  but  poorly  paid, 
getting  only  thirty  trangkas  (IO5.)  per  annum.     But  house 

M.E.  G 


82       THE   NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

servants  are  still  worse  off,  getting  only  eight  trangk-as 
(2^.  8cL)  per  annum.  However,  they  seem  to  thrive  under 
those  wages  and  there  is  no  discontent  or  trades  unionism 
among  them.  Our  camp  was  pitched  in  a  sunny  spot  not 
far  from  the  village,  looking  straight  over  towards  Mount 
Everest,  whose  top  appeared  over  the  opposite  hills.  From 
this  side  its  precipices  looked  most  formidable  and  there 
was  also  a  magnificent  ridge  which  we  had  not  seen  before. 
There  was  a  slight  frost  again  that  night. 

Breakfasting,  as  usual,  at  5  a.m.,  I  started  up  the  hill 
South  of  the  camp  and  was  lucky  enough  to  get  a  clear 
view  of  Everest  and  the  Rongbuk  Valley  that  led  up  to 
it.  This  valley  ran  right  up  to  the  foot  of  Mount  Everest 
and  seemed  an  easy  enough  approach,  but  the  mountain 
itself  looked  absolutely  unscalable  from  this  side,  showing 
nothing  but  a  series  of  very  steep  precipices.  The  day 
turned  out  to  be  a  very  hot  one.  I  descended  into  the 
valley  below,  and  started  to  ride  up  towards  Mount  Everest. 
Presently  I  came  to  an  unfordable  stream,  and  after  making 
several  attempts  to  get  across  this,  found  myself  compelled 
to  return  several  miles  down  the  valley  to  the  monastery 
of  Chobu,  where  there  was  a  slender  footbridge.  The  pony 
that  I  was  riding  was  swum  across,  a  rope  being  attached  to 
its  head.  He  was  then  pulled  over  to  the  far  side,  a  proceeding 
he  did  not  at  all  enjoy.  The  yaks,  too,  were  unladen, 
and  the  loads  carried  by  hand  over  the  bridge.  After  this 
the  yaks  were  driven  into  the  river  and  made  to  swim  across, 
but  they  only  went  as  far  as  an  island  in  the  middle  of  the 
river.  From  this  place  they  would  not  budge  in  spite  of 
stones,  curses  and  threats,  until  at  length  a  man  with  a 
sling,  fetched  from  the  monastery,  hurled  stones  at  them  with 
great  violence :  this  procedure  apparently  so  stung  them 
up  that  they  thought  it  advisable  to  cross  the  remainder 
of  the  stream.  At  the  entrance  to  the  valley,  we  passed 
some  very  tame  burhel  within  a  few  yards  of  the  path,  and 
then  went  along  at  the  foot  of  some  fine  cliffs  with  limestone 
on  the  top  and  layers  of  hornblende  and  granite  below.     At 


TINGRI  AND   COUNTRY   TO   SOUTH  83 

first    there    was    quite    a    rich    vegetation    growing    here, 
considering  we  were  just  on  16,000  feet.      There  were  juniper 
bushes,   clematis,   willows,   a  genista,  rock  roses,   and  even 
some  yellow  primulas,  but  as  we  got  further  into  the  valley 
it  became  more  stony,  and  on  either  side  of  the  path  were 
small  piles  of  stones  heaped  up  by  pilgrims.     The  valley 
was  considered  very  sacred  and  was  apparently  a  great  place 
of   pilgrimage.     We   found   the   base   camp    of   the   Alpine 
climbers  pitched  close  to  the  Rongbuk  Monastery,   where 
there  Uved  a  very  high  re-incarnated   Lama  who  was  in 
meditation    and  not    allowed  to  see    anyone.     This  valley 
was   called   the    Rongbuk,    or   inner   valley — a   name   well 
suited  to  it ;   the  legend  was  that  from  this  valley  there  used 
to  be  a  pass  over  into  the  Khombu  Valley,  but  the  high 
Lama  who  lived  here  forbade  the  use  of  it,  as  it  disturbed 
the  meditations  of  the  recluses  and  hermits,  of  which  there 
were  several  hundred  here.     At  first  these  good  people  did 
not  at  all  approve  of  our  coming  into  this  valley,  as  they 
thought  we  should  be  Ukely  to  disturb  and  distract  their 
meditations. 

The  Rongbuk  Monastery  lies  at  a  height  of  16,500  feet, 
and  is  an  unpleasantly  cold  spot.  This  monastery  contains 
twenty  permanent  Lamas  who  always  live  there,  together 
with  the  re-incarnated  Lama.  Besides  these,  there  are  three 
hundred  other  associated  Lamas  who  come  in  periodically, 
remaining  there  for  periods  of  varying  length.  These 
Associate  Lamas  are  mostly  well-to-do,  and  having  sufficient 
money  to  support  themselves  are  not  a  drain  upon  the 
villagers.  They  will  often  invest  several  thousand  trangkas 
with  some  village,  and  in  return  for  this  money  the  village 
will  supply  them  with  food,  barley,  mill^,  eggs  and  fuel. 
Higher  up  the  valley  there  was  a  smaller  monastery,  and 
dotted  along  the  hillside  were  numerous  cells  and  caves 
where  monks  or  nuns  had  retired  to  meditate.  Every 
animal  that  we  saw  in  this  valley  was  extraordinarily  tame. 
In  the  mornings  we  watched  the  burhel  coming  to  some 
hermits'  cells  not  a  hundred  yards  away  from  the  camp. 


84       THE   NARRATIVE   OF   THE   EXPEDITION 

to  be  fed,  and  from  there  they  went  on  to  other  cells.  They 
seemed  to  have  no  fear  whatever  of  human  beings.  On 
the  way  up  the  valley  we  passed  within  40  to  50  yards  of 
a  fine  flock  of  rams,  but  they  barely  moved  away,  and  on 
the  way  back  we  passed  some  females  that  were  so  inquisitive 
that  they  actually  came  up  to  within  10  yards  of  us  in  order 
to  have  a  look  at  us.  The  rock  pigeons  came  and  fed  out 
of  one's  hand,  and  the  ravens  and  all  the  other  birds  here 
were  equally  tame ;  it  was  most  interesting  to  be  able  to 
watch  all  their  habits  and  to  see  them  at  such  close  quarters. 
On  July  4,  Heron  and  I  walked  up  the  valley  to  see  Mallory 
and  Bullock,  who  had  got  an  Alpine  camp  some  7  miles 
further  up  the  valley  at  a  height  of  18,000  feet,  where  they 
were  training  their  coolies  in  snow  and  ice  work  and  trying 
to  find  out  whether  there  was  any  possible  way  of  attacking 
Mount  Everest  from  this  side.  It  was  a  beautiful  morning 
when  we  started,  and  on  the  way  we  passed  one  or  two 
small  monasteries  and  numerous  cells  where  hermits  and 
recluses  were  living  in  retirement  and  meditation.  After 
crossing  several  small  lake  beds  and  old  moraines — for  the 
big  Rongbuk  Glacier  seemed  to  have  been  retiring  in  the 
last  few  years — ^we  came  to  the  big  moraine-covered  Rongbuk 
Glacier.  This  glacier  appeared  to  be  about  8  or  9  miles 
long,  starting  immediately  below  an  immense  circle  of  cliffs 
which  formed  the  North  face  of  Mount  Everest.  We  found 
afterwards  that  there  were  several  other  side  glaciers  that 
joined  in  it,  which  were  even  larger  and  longer  than  the 
centre  glacier.  After  some  steep  scrambles  up  the  moraine- 
covered  glacier  and  on  to  a  high  terrace  on  the  West  side  of 
it,  we  found  Mallory  and  Bullock  with  their  coolies  encamped 
in  a  pleasantly  sheltered  spot  with  plenty  of  water  close 
at  hand  and  commanding  the  most  magnificent  views  of 
Mount  Everest,  which  here  seemed  to  be  only  about  6  miles 
away  and  towered  up  above  the  glacier,  showing  immense 
cliifs  10,000  feet  high.  Mallory  and  Bullock  were  hard  at 
work  training  the  coolies  in  snow  and  ice  work  and  exploring 
all  the  different  glaciers  from  that  side.    They  were,  however, 


TINGRI  AND   COUNTRY  TO   SOUTH  85 

much  handicapped  by  there  only  being  two  of  them,  which 
made  the  work  more  strenuous.  After  spending  the  day 
with  them.  Heron  and  I  returned  to  our  camp  in  the  evening. 
The  evening  hght  on  Mount  Everest  was  wonderfully  beautiful. 
The  weather  seems  nearly  always  to  clear  up  about  sunset, 
and  its  summit  then  usually  towers  far  above  the  clouds 
in  a  clear  sky.  At  dusk  several  of  the  Lamas  came  for 
medicines  of  different  kinds,  which  we  gave  them,  and  much 
to  our  surprise  in  the  morning  they  presented  us  with  a 
number  of  fresh  eggs  in  gratitude.  Having  seen  Mallory 
and  Bullock  well  established  in  this  valley,  our  next  most 
important  duty  seemed  to  be  to  select  a  site  for  our  next 
base  camp.  Some  place  on  the  East  side  of  Mount  Everest 
would  have  to  be  chosen,  and  it  seemed  that  somewhere 
in  the  Kharta  Valley  would  be  the  most  likely  spot.  Heron 
and  I  therefore  determined  that  we  would  make  a  quick 
reconnaissance  of  that  district  before  returning  to  Tingri. 
On  the  following  day  we  moved  down  from  the  Rongbuk 
Monastery. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE   SEARCH  FOR  KHARTA 

After  leaving  INIallory  and  Bullock  to  continue  the  search 
for  a  possible  route  up  Mount  Everest  from  the  Rongbuk 
side,  Heron  and  I,  on  July  5,  started  off  down  the  Rongbuk 
Valley  in  order  to  visit  Kliarta.  We  had  been  told  that  it 
was  only  two  days'  easy  march  from  the  monastery  to  get 
there.  It  was  a  cold  morning  when  we  started  off ;  there 
had  been  a  sharp  frost  during  the  night  and  the  sun  did 
not  reach  us  till  late  in  the  morning.  Mount  Everest  stood 
out  at  the  head  of  the  valley  wonderfully  clear  and  clothed 
with  a  fresh  mantle  of  white.  Instead  of  crossing  over  the 
river  by  the  bridge,  at  Chobu,  we  kept  straight  on  down 
the  valley  till  we  came  to  Chodzong,  where  were  the  first 
barley  fields  and  cultivation.  There  was  plenty  of  water 
here  for  irrigation  purposes,  and  some  fine  grassy  fields 
on  which  many  ponies  were  grazing.  We  had  to  change 
our  transport  in  this  village  and  get  fresh  animals,  so  that 
it  was  not  till  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  that  we  got 
started  again.  In  Tibet  they  have  a  system  of  stages,  and 
animals  from  one  village  are  taken,  as  a  rule,  for  one  stage 
only.  As  each  stage  usually  ends  at  the  next  village,  and  as 
villages  are  frequent,  this  is  a  most  awkward  and  inconvenient 
arrangement — as  it  necessitates  three  or  four  changes  a 
day.  In  order  to  avoid  these  constant  changes,  we  used  to 
persuade  the  villagers  by  promises  of  extra  baksheesh, 
especially  where  we  had  a  large  number  of  animals,  to 
undertake  two  or  three  stages.  After  leaving  Chodzong 
we  climbed  up  over  a  steep  pass  1,200  feet  above  the  valley 
and  found  a  still  deeper  descent  to  the  village  of  Halung, 
which  lay  at  our  feet.     Here  we  waited  for  our  transport, 

86 


THE   SEARCH  FOR  KHARTA  87 

but  as  this  did  not  arrive  till  dark,  we  decided  to  camp 
there,  though  we  had  only  done  18  miles  from  Rongbuk  ; 
the  yak  travels  very  slowly.  We  were  now  again  at  14,800 
feet  and  found  a  much  warmer  climate,  with  green  barley 
fields  and  here  and  there  patches  of  yellow  mustard.  A 
large  rhubarb  with  a  curious  crinkled  leaf  grew  here  and 
there  in  the  fields.  We  tried  to  eat  this  rhubarb ;  it 
had  an  unpleasant  taste,  but  this  disappeared  when  it 
was  cooked  and  it  proved  a  welcome  addition  to  our  diet. 
The  Tibetans  do  not  use  it  for  food,  as  sugar — without 
which  it  would  be  uneatable — is  scarce  and  expensive  in 
the  country.  The  plant  serves,  however,  as  an  acid  for 
dyes. 

Halung  is  a  very  prosperous-looking  village  with  well- 
built  houses.  The  villagers  soon  had  three  tents  pitched 
for  us  on  a  grassy  field  between  the  village  and  the  river  ; 
cushions,  cooking  pots  and  fuel  were  also  brought  out  for  us. 
Here  we  camped  for  the  night  in  reasonable  comfort.  On 
the  following  morning  the  loads  were  all  carried  by  hand 
across  a  fragile  bridge  over  the  glacier  stream,  while  the 
yaks  and  the  ponies  were  driven  across  it.  We  then  rode 
for  a  mile  down  the  green  and  well-watered  valley,  and 
afterwards  turned  up  into  another  valley  where  every  flat 
space  was  green  with  barley-fields  intermixed  with  brilliant 
patches  of  yellow  from  the  fields  of  mustard.  A  small 
glacier  stream  fed  this  valley  and  supplied  plenty  of  water 
for  irrigation.  After  passing  several  small  villages  we  rode 
across  a  spur  also  covered  with  barley-fields  to  Rebu,  where 
we  had  to  change  our  transport.  This  was  quite  a  picturesque 
village  situated  on  a  rocky  knoll,  part  of  the  village  being 
on  one  side  and  part  on  the  other  of  the  river.  Along  the 
various  irrigation  canals  were  wild  flowers  of  all  kinds. 
Monkshood  grew  there,  also  black  and  yellow  clematis, 
rhubarb,  ranunculus  and  primulas  of  different  kinds.  By 
ten  o'clock  our  transport  was  changed  and  we  were  given 
ponies  instead  of  yaks  :  they  travel  much  quicker  and  we 
had  apparently  a  long  way  to  go  yet  before  we  could  reach 


88       THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

the  next  village.  We  were  expecting  all  the  time  to  get  to 
Kharta  that  evening,  but  where  distances  are  concerned 
all  Tibetans  are  liars,  and  after  doing  26  miles  we  stopped, 
Kharta  being  apparently  as  far  off  as  ever.  After  leaving 
Rebu  the  path  led  for  some  miles  up  an  uninteresting  vaUey, 
in  which  hmestone  cliffs  on  one  side  and  sandstone  cliffs 
on  the  other  came  down  almost  to  the  stream,  the  waters 
of  which,  in  contrast  to  the  muddy  glacier  streams  that 
we  had  been  meeting  the  whole  time,  were  as  clear  as  crystal. 
There  were  many  smaU  birds  along  the  banks,  all  of  them 
wonderfully  tame  ;  these,  when  we  were  resting  for  lunch, 
hopped  all  round  us  and  under  our  legs,  carrying  off  crumbs 
or  any  morsels  of  food.  We  now  climbed  up  on  to  a  pass 
called  the  Doya  La,  17,000  feet,  from  the  top  of  which  were 
fine  views  of  great  rocky  peaks  on  either  side,  those  on  the 
South  being  covered  in  parts  with  hanging  glaciers.  About 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  top  of  the  pass  we  struck  some 
granite  soil  on  which  grew  an  extraordinary  variety  of 
Alpine  flowers ;  the  blue  poppy  abounded,  pink,  yellow 
and  white  saxifrages  covered  all  the  rocks,  and  besides  these 
were  many  other  plants  which  I  had  not  seen  before  and 
which  were  quite  new  to  me.  The  range  which  we  now 
crossed  acts  as  a  barrier  against  the  approach  of  the  Monsoon 
clouds  and  prevents  them  from  passing  over  into  Tibet. 
Over  on  the  North  side  the  country  is  mostly  dry  and  very 
little  grows  there,  whereas  on  the  South  there  is  a  rich  and 
varied  vegetation  and  the  air  feels  soft  and  moist.  The 
road  from  the  pass  led  by  an  easy  descent  into  a  fine  valley 
with  a  green  lake  lying  at  its  head  under  the  dark  cliffs 
of  some  bold  rocky  peaks.  We  followed  this  valley  for 
many  miles,  a  strong  head  wind  blowing  against  us  the  whole 
of  the  time,  and  found  ourselves  before  long  once  more 
among  the  junipers  and  willows.  We  also  saw  pink  and 
white  rhododendrons,  and  in  places  a  small  yellow  one 
with  waxy  blossoms.  The  yellow  rock  cistus,  spirseas,  roses, 
yellow  primulas,  blue  monkshood,  campanulas,  blue  anemones, 
and  hundreds  of  other  wild  flowers  formed  a  rich  flora  which 


THE   SEARCH   FOR   KHARTA  89 

showed  that  a  considerable  precipitation  from  the  Monsoon 
fell  in  this  valley. 

At  last  we  carne  to  a  village,  but  every  one  fled  at  our 
approach,  and  we  could  get  no  information  about  the  route. 
A  little  further  on  we  came  across  more  villages,  in  one 
of  which,  with  much  difficulty  and  after  a  long  chase,  we 
captured  a  man  and  made  him  guide  us  to  the  village  of 
Chulungphu,  where  we  decided  to  stop  the  night.  After 
a  little  time  we  induced  some  of  the  villagers  to  come  out 
from  their  hiding-places,  and  to  produce  tents  and  fuel  for 
us.  The  camp  was  pitched  in  a  field  of  sweet-scented  primulas 
near  the  village.  The  architecture  of  these  houses  was  quite 
different  from  what  we  had  met  before — they  all  appear 
to  be  strongly  fortified,  as  they  have  practically  no  windows 
and  there  are  only  small  loopholes  facing  outwards.  They 
are  all  built  of  a  brown  stone— a  kind  of  gneiss,  and  have 
sods  on  the  parapet  over  which  are  laid  branches  of  juniper. 
The  next  morning  we  woke  to  the  sound  of  pattering  rain 
and  found  all  the  hills  wreathed  in  grey  mist.  This  was 
their  first  rain  this  year,  so  the  inhabitants  told  us.  It  was 
pleasant  to  one's  skin  after  the  dry  climate  and  biting  winds 
that  we  had  been  experiencing  on  the  other  side  of  the 
passes  to  feel  oneself  wrapped  in  a  softer  and  milder  air. 
We  rode  down  this  valley  for  about  6  miles  until  it  debouched 
into  the  main  Arun  Valley.  The  people,  however,  do  not 
know  it  by  this  name  here,  but  call  it  still  the  Bhong-chu 
until  it  reaches  Nepal.  We  passed  villages  all  the  way, 
villages  brown  in  colour  and  built  of  a  brown  gneiss, 
around  which  grew  fields  of  barley  and  mustard.  After 
the  barren  valleys  which  we  had  left,  these  appeared  very 
fertile ;  rose  and  currant  bushes  surrounded  every  field, 
while  the  hillsides  were  covered  with  juniper  and  willows. 
Along  the  path  grew  spiraeas  and  clematis,  while  beside 
every  watercourse  were  yellow  marsh  marigolds  and  primulas. 
A  feature  of  the  Arun  Valley,  which  was  faMy  wide  here, 
was  the  old  terraces  on  its  slopes,  now  all  covered  with 
barley,  pea  and  mustard  fields,  the  latter  being  a  blaze  of 


90       THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

yellow.  There  were  many  villages  here  and  some  pleasant 
country  houses  surrounded  by  groves  of  willows  and  poplars. 
Down  here  the  people  were  not  quite  so  frightened  of  us 
as  they  were  in  the  valley  from  which  we  had  just  come, 
where  they  had  run  away  from  us  whenever  we  approached. 
The  Bong-chu  here  is  a  large  river  with  a  very  great  flow 
of  water,  and  quite  unfordable.  The  nearest  place  where 
it  could  be  crossed  is  at  a  rope  bridge  some  18  miles  higher 
up,  and  during  the  rainy  season  this  bridge  is  impassable, 
and  communication  with  the  other  side  completely  cut 
off.  To  the  South  and  close  by,  at  a  height  of  12,000  feet, 
the  Bhong-chu  enters  a  terrific  gorge  on  either  side  of  which 
tower  up  great  cliffs  with  snowy  peaks  high  above  them. 
On  some  of  the  slopes  which  are  not  quite  so  steep  there 
are  thick  forests  of  fir  trees  and  rhododendrons  where,  I 
was  told,  the  muskdeer  lived.  After  descending  the  valley 
for  3  miles,  we  turned  up  a  side  valley  pointing  Westwards. 
Down  this  flowed  a  very  large  and  unfordable  glacial  stream. 
This  evidently  came  down  from  the  neighbourhood  of 
Mount  Everest,  but  local  information  as  to  its  source  was 
very  vague,  and  it  was  evident  that  we  should  have  to 
prospect  for  ourselves.  Some  3  miles  up  this  valley  we  came 
to  a  place  called  by  the  natives  Kharta  Shika,  where  the 
Governor  of  the  Kharta  District  resides.  Kharta  was  not 
apparently  a  village  at  all,  but  a  district  including  a  number 
of  small  villages.  We  halted  a  short  distance  below  Kharta 
Shika  and  presently  the  Governor  came  out  to  meet  us  with 
a  present  of  sweetmeats  and  the  usual  scarf.  He  apologised 
for  not  meeting  us  before,  as  he  said  that  he  had  no  informa- 
tion as  to  the  date  of  our  arrival.  He  begged  that  we  would 
come  over  to  his  garden  where  he  had  ordered  a  fine  Chinese 
tent  to  be  pitched  for  us.  We  crossed  the  river  by  a  wooden 
l^ridge,  and  after  going  through  the  village  came  to  the 
Governor's  house.  Crossing  through  the  courtyard  we 
entered  his  garden,  wliich  lay  in  a  nice  sheltered  spot 
surrounded  by  willow  trees  with  a  stream  of  clear  water 
running  through  it.     Big  wUd  roses  grew  there  and  a  few 


THE   SEARCH   FOR  KHARTA  91 

European  flowers  that  he  had  planted,  while  under  a  very 
ancient  poplar  there  was  a  large  painted  prayer  wheel,  some  8 
feet  high,  which  was  turned  by  a  stream  of  water.  Here  in  his 
garden  he  provided  us  with  a  meal  of  excellent  macaroni 
and  a  very  hot  chilli  salad.  It  was  very  pleasant  to  rest 
the  eyes  on  the  luscious  green  of  the  well  irrigated  garden, 
and  to  be  for  once  sheltered  from  the  wind.  During  the 
night  we  were  awakened  by  a  regular  shower  bath.  The 
Chinese  tent,  beautiful  as  it  was  in  outward  appearance, 
was  sadly  lacking  in  waterproof  qualities.  As  it  rained 
steadily  most  of  the  night,  we  had  to  take  cover  under  our 
mackintoshes  on  which  were  pools  of  water  in  the  morning. 
There  seemed  to  be  no  doubt  that  the  proper  Monsoon  had 
at  last  broken,  and  the  Jongpen  himself  told  us  that  this 
was  the  first  really  heavy  rain  that  they  had  had.  All  the 
people  considered  that  we  had  brought  this  rain  with  us 
and  were  very  grateful  in  consequence ;  later  on,  when  we 
left,  they  begged  us  not  to  stop  the  rain,  as  they  wanted 
it  badly  for  their  crops. 

As  it  cleared  up  a  little  about  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
though  the  hills  were  still  all  in  cloud,  we  rode  out  with 
Chheten  Wangdi,  the  Jongpen  and  Hopaphema,  who  was 
the  largest  landowner  about  here,  to  look  out  for  a  site 
for  our  next  base  camp.  We  wanted,  if  possible,  to  get  a 
house  that  could  be  used  as  a  store-room  and  also  for  photo- 
graphic purposes.  We  rode  down  into  the  main  valley, 
and  after  looking  over  several  houses,  we  eventually  selected 
one  on  an  old  river  terrace  with  fine  views  all  around  and 
standing  quite  by  itself  well  away  from  any  village.  The 
water  supply  was  good  and  handy,  and  there  was  a  pleasant 
garden  of  poplars  and  willows,  in  which  we  could  pitch  our 
tents.  After  a  certain  amount  of  bargaining,  the  owners 
were  willing  to  let  us  have  the  house  and  the  garden  for  the 
large  rent  of  one  trangka  (S^d.)  a  day.  It  was  apparently 
the  first  time  anyone  in  that  valley  had  ever  wanted  to 
rent  a  house,  and  there  were  no  house  agents  there  to  run  one 
up  into  exorbitant  prices.    We  then  rode  on  to  Hopaphema' s 


92       THE   NARRATIVE   OF   THE   EXPEDITION 

house,  which  was  a  fine  soHdly  built  dweUing  surrounded 
by  large  juniper  trees,  willows  and  poplars.  Later  on  we 
got  to  know  this  man  very  well,  and  used  to  call  him  always 
the  "  Sergeant,"  as  he  was  supposed  to  do  any  recruiting 
for  the  Tibetan  army  that  was  needed  in  that  vaUey.  He 
had  a  very  kmdly  disposition,  was  always  very  hospitable, 
and  had  a  great  sense  of  humour.  He  had  a  tent  pitched 
for  our  reception  under  a  very  old  poplar  with  a  grass  plot 
in  front  surrounded  by  bushes  of  wild  red  roses.  Here  we 
were  given  tea,  milk  and  beer,  and  then  the  usual  macaroni 
and  mince  was  produced.  On  leaving,  he  insisted  on  my 
taking  away  a  large  quantity  of  turnip  leaves,  as  he  knew 
I  was  very  fond  of  green  food,  and  they  made  an  excellent 
"  spinach."  The  Tibetans  that  we  met  have  invariably 
proved  very  kindly  and  hospitable. 

On  returning  to  Kharta,  where  I  had  left  Heron,  I  found 
that  it  had  been  raining  aU  the  time,  though  in  the  main 
valley  we  had  had  it  quite  fine.  In  the  evening  I  took  a 
walk  up  to  an  old  fort  not  far  from  our  camp.  This  fort 
in  old  days  had  commanded  the  only  path  from  here  that 
led  into  Nepal,  but  now  it  had  all  fallen  into  ruin.  Close 
by  it,  however,  was  a  delightful  dell  full  of  hoary  wiUow 
trees,  underneath  which  the  ground  was  carpeted  with 
yeUow  primulas  growing  among  the  bushes  of  scarlet  roses. 
Near  by  were  two  old  poplar  trees,  whose  trunks  measured 
between  20  and  30  feet  in  circumference  and  were  evidently 
of  a  very  great  age.  The  primulas  everywhere  were  really 
astonishing.  They  outlined  every  watercourse  with  yellow 
and  often  grew  between  2  and  3  feet  high  with  enormous 
heads  of  sweet  cowslip-scented  yellow  flowers.  It  rained 
again  during  the  whole  of  the  night,  and  the  fine  spray 
that  came  through  the  Chinese  tent  made  sleep  rather 
difficult.  The  next  morning  we  started  to  go  back  to  Tingri, 
and  for  the  first  day's  march  were  given  coolies  for  our 
transport.  In  this  district  coolies  are  used  a  great  deal 
as  all  the  trade  with  Nepal  has  to  be  carried  on  by  them, 
the  paths  over  the  passes  being  quite  impassable  for  pack 


THE   SEARCH  FOR  KHARTA  93 

transport;  the  Jongpen  told  us  that  we  would  find  them 
quite  as  fast  as  ponies. 

To-day's  march  was  to  Lumeh — a  distance  of  about 
17  miles — and  the  coolies  arrived  very  soon  after  we  did, 
having  come  along  extraordinarily  well.  Our  route  for  the 
first  3  miles  was  down  the  Kharta  Valley  until  it  joined 
the  valley  of  the  Bhong-chu ;  we  then  followed  the  right  bank 
of  this  for  some  10  miles.  On  the  way  we  stopped  at  the 
house  of  Hopaphema,  who  insisted  on  giving  us  a  meal 
of  milk,  macaroni  and  mince,  although  it  was  only  just 
over  an  hour  since  we  had  had  breakfast.  On  our  departure 
he  gave  us  a  basket  of  eggs  and  some  more  turnip  leaves 
to  take  along  with  us,  and  altogether  showed  himself  a 
most  friendly  and  hospitable  host.  At  first  we  rode  through 
fields  of  barley,  peas  and  mustard  for  several  miles,  the  valley 
then  became  much  more  barren  and  the  path  occasionally 
was  taken  high  up  on  the  face  of  a  cHff,  where  the  river 
swept  round  close  beneath  the  mountain  side.  At  other 
times  we  crossed  broad  stony  terraces.  We  came  eventually 
to  the  village  of  Dak,  where  the  monks  from  the  monastery 
had  pitched  tents  for  us  and  had  another  meal  provided 
for  us.  Coolies  had  to  be  changed  here,  our  old  coolies 
arriving  while  we  were  having  our  meal ;  after  the  loads 
had  been  transferred,  our  new  transport  proceeded  along  to 
Lumeh,  where  we  intended  to  spend  the  night.  The  path 
after  Dak  was  in  places  dangerous  owing  to  faUing  stones, 
and  our  guide  every  now  and  then  urged  us  to  hurry,  as 
owing  to  the  heavy  rain  of  the  preceding  night  many  stones 
had  been  loosened.  The  main  Bhong-chu  suddenly  turned 
off  to  the  East  from  here,  unexpectedly  forcing  a  passage 
through  a  very  curious  and  deep  gorge,  where  it  bm'st  its 
way  through  the  highest  mountains.  We  did  not,  however, 
follow  the  valley  of  the  Bhong-chu,  but  kept  on  up  what 
appeared  to  be  the  main  valley  ;  this  was  really  only  the 
valley  of  the  Lower  Rongbuk  that  in  its  lower  portion  is 
called  the  Dzakar-chu.  This  river  we  crossed  by  a  wooden 
bridge,  built  on  the  cantilever  principle,  and  which  a  couple 


94       THE   NARRATIVE   OF   THE   EXPEDITION 

of  months  later  was  washed  away.  After  riding  for  a  couple 
of  miles  over  a  nice  grassy  turi  we  came  to  Lumeh.  Here 
was  a  very  fine  country  house  around  which  were  grouped  a 
few  smaller  houses.  This  was  the  residence  of  Ngawangyonten, 
who  was  managing  the  district  for  the  big  monastery  at 
Sliekar  Dzong,  whose  property  it  was.  He  had  tents  akeady 
pitched  for  us,  and  fuel,  milk  and  eggs  already  prepared. 
Around  this  house  were  five  of  the  largest  poplar  trees  that 
I  have  ever  seen.  The  largest  was  almost  40  feet  in  circum- 
ference at  the  base,  and  the  others  were  all  between  20 
and  25  feet  in  circumference.  The  villagers  told  us  that 
they  thought  these  trees  had  been  planted  about  500  years 
ago.  Magpies  and  hoopoes  were  very  common  in  this 
valley — the  former  were  quite  tame  and  allowed  us  to 
aj)proach  very  close.  The  barley-fields  seemed  to  hold  many 
hares.  Some  fine  crops  of  wheat  as  well  as  barley  were 
grown  here,  although  the  height  was  12,800  feet.  Every 
night  now  we  had  heavy  rain  which  brought  fresh  snow 
down  to  16,000  feet.  As  the  clouds  remained  low  all  day 
we  seldom  got  any  distant  views. 

The  march  to  Pulme,  our  next  point  up  the  valley  of 
the  Dzakar-chu,  was  22  miles,  a  very  dull  and  uninterestmg 
ride.  The  going  was  bad — we  often  had  to  follow  the  bed 
of  the  river,  which  was  now  in  flood  and  extended  to  the 
cliffs  on  both  sides — at  other  times  we  kept  high  up  on 
the  steep  sides  of  a  gorge,  sometimes  of  gneiss,  sometimes 
of  limestone  rock.  In  places  where  the  valley  widened 
out,  the  river  bed  was  full  of  bushes  of  tamarisk  and  sea 
buckthorn,  but  otherwise  the  vegetation  was  scanty.  After 
going  15  miles  we  were  to  change  coolies  ;  but  the  Lumeh 
coolies,  who  were  extremely  poor  and  very  different  from 
those  that  we  had  taken  from  Kharta,  took  eleven  hours 
to  cover  the  15  miles,  and  did  not  arrive  till  six  in  the  evening. 
Much  to  Heron's  disgust,  I  proposed  to  push  on  to  Pulme, 
late  as  it  was  ;  but  the  road  was  good,  and  we  trotted  the 
7  miles  in  an  hour  and  a  half,  though  the  coolies  and  the 
donkeys  did  not  arrive  till  well  after  dark.     Fortunately  we 


THE   SEARCH   FOR   KHARTA  95 

found  tents  as  usual  pitched  for  our  reception.  We  had 
originally  intended  to  ford  the  Dzakar-cliu  that  evening 
and  camp  on  the  far  side,  but  it  was  too  dangerous  to  do  it 
in  the  dark,  though  the  villagers  told  us  that  by  morning 
the  stream  would  be  a  couple  of  feet  higher.  The  river  is 
a  great  obstacle  at  this  time  of  the  year,  as  there  is  no  bridge 
over  it  here,  the  next  bridge  being  at  Chobu,  20  miles  higher 
up  the  valley. 

The  following  day  I  started  on  my  return  journey  to 
Tingri,  leaving  at  5.30  in  the  morning  with  Chheten  Wangdi. 
I  succeeded  in  fording  the  Dzakar-chu,  which  was  deep  and 
very  swift.  My  pony  was  swept  off  his  legs  once  and  I  got 
very  wet,  the  icy  cold  water  coming  right  over  the  saddle. 

Heron  and  the  coolies  were  to  follow  on  slowly  and 
were  to  take  two  days  in  reaching  Tingri,  but  I  was  anxious 
to  get  back,  having  been  away  already  longer  than  I  intended. 
Four  miles  away,  at  Tashi  Dzom,  I  changed  ponies  and 
procured  a  guide  who  was  to  take  me  on  to  Tingri,  leaving 
Chheten  Wangdi  behind  with  Heron.  This  guide  proved 
quite  an  amusing  fellow,  and  suddenly  surprised  me  by 
counting  in  English  one,  two,  three,  four,  and  then  saying 
"  Right  turn  "  and  "  Left  turn,"  and  other  military  words 
of  command.  On  inquiring  where  he  had  learned  this 
English,  I  found  that  at  one  time  he  had  served  as  a  soldier 
at  Lhasa,  where  the  military  words  of  command  are  in 
English,  and  these  were  the  only  Enghsh  words  that  he 
knew.  After  leaving  Tashi  Dzom  we  turned  up  into  a  broad 
side  valley  with  villages  every  half-mile  and  surrounded 
by  barley,  mustard  and  pea  fields.  What  was,  however, 
especially  noticeable  about  all  these  valleys  that  we  had 
been  passing  through  for  the  last  two  days,  was  the  extra- 
ordinary number  of  ruined  villages  that  there  were  everjrwhere. 
This  was  not  due  to  lack  of  water,  for  there  was  plenty  of 
water  m  all  the  streams  ;  these  valleys,  however,  must  have 
at  one  time  been  very  thickly  inhabited,  and  it  is  probable 
that  the  dearth  of  population  to-day  is  due  to  the  wars 
with  the  Gurkhas  in  the  eighteenth  century.  We  had  a  very 


96       THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

wet  ride — one  storm  after  another  overtook  us,  and  a  cold 
rain  fell  heavily  all  the  way  to  Tingri.  We  gradually  ascended 
out  of  the  cultivation  and  crossing  a  low  pass,  about  16,000 
feet,  looked  down  again  on  the  great  Tingri  Plain.  There 
was  still,  however,  a  long  way  to  go,  and  it  was  not  till 
after  five  o'clock  in  the  evening  that  I  reached  Tingri, 
drenched  to  the  skin.  It  had  been  a  ride  of  between  36  and 
40  miles. 

At  Tingri  I  found  WoUaston  and  Morshead.  The  former 
had  been  very  busy  all  the  time  I  had  been  away  in  collecting 
insects,  butterflies,  rats,  mice,  birds  and  flowers,  and  had 
amassed  quite  a  number  of  specimens.  Morshead  had  been 
out  a  good  deal  with  his  surveyors  to  the  North  and  to 
the  West,  but  had  been  driven  in  by  the  bad  weather  of 
the  last  few  days.  This  had  apparently  been  general  and 
we  might  say  that  the  rainy  season  this  year  had  begun 
on  July  7,  wliich  the  Tibetans  considered  very  late  for 
those  parts.  The  following  afternoon  Heron  arrived,  and 
my  kit  also,  which  I  was  very  glad  to  get,  as  I  had  only 
had  a  spare  tent  to  roU  around  me  the  previous  night. 

The  next  day  or  two  was  spent  mostly  in  reading  letters 
and  newspapers.  Our  postal  arrangements  were  at  first 
rather  complicated,  there  being  no  regular  postal  service  to 
the  provinces  in  Tibet.  We  had,  therefore,  to  make  an 
arrangement  with  each  Jongpen  to  forward  on  our  mail. 
Phari  was  the  last  post  office,  and  the  postmaster  there 
had  to  arrange  with  the  Phari  Jongpen  for  a  messenger 
every  week  to  go  with  our  posts  to  Khamba  Dzong  ;  we 
had  left  money  with  him  for  the  purpose  of  paying  the 
postman.  At  Khamba  Dzong  we  had  arranged  with  the 
Jongpen  there  that  he  should  forward  our  letters  to  Tinki, 
and  at  Tinki  we  had  made  further  arrangements  for  them 
to  be  sent  on  to  Shekar  Dzong  and  from  Shekar  Dzong  they 
were  to  be  sent  to  Tingri.  We  had  left  money  for  this 
purpose  with  the  various  Jongpens,  and  each  Jongpen  as 
he  received  the  mail  bag  was  to  affix  his  seal  on  it  and  send 
it  on  as  quickly  as  he  could  to  the  next  Jongpen.     This 


THE   SEARCH   FOR  KHARTA  97 

system  worked  very  well  for  the  first  two  months,  but  after 
we  had  moved  to  Kharta,  partly  owing  to  floods,  and  partly 
perhaps  to  the  laziness  of  the  Shekar  Jongpen,  our  mails 
were  all  held  up  and  we  eventually  had  to  send  coolies  back 
from  our  camp  to  Phari  to  bring  them  along.  The  best 
plan  another  time  would  be  to  take  with  the  Expedition  a 
certain  number  of  coolies  to  be  used  purely  for  going  backwards 
and  forwards  with  the  mails.  On  July  13  Morshead  and 
WoUaston  left  to  go  to  Nyenyam  in  response  to  a  cordial 
invitation  from  the  Jongpen,  asking  that  some  of  the 
Expedition  should  visit  the  place.  We  were  glad  to  accept, 
and  this  should  be  a  very  interesting  part  of  the  country 
botanically. 


M.E.  H 


CHAPTER  VI 
THE   MOVE   TO   KHARTA 

I  had  arrived  back  at  Tingri  on  July  11,  and  remained 
there  in  the  Chinese  rest-house  until  July  24,  when  I  started 
to  move  the  base  camp  and  all  the  stores  round  to  Kharta. 
During  the  time  I  was  not  left  always  alone,  for  Heron  came 
in  occasionally  for  a  night  between  his  various  geological 
expeditions  to  the  North.  Wheeler  also  came  down  for 
a  change  and  a  rest,  and  to  develop  the  photographs  that 
he  had  taken.  He  had  been  having  a  very  trying  and 
provoking  time  in  the  high  camps,  as  the  weather  had  been 
bad,  with  frequent  snowfalls.  Nearly  every  day  he  climbed 
up  to  a  spur  20,000  feet  or  more  in  height,  yet  in  spite  of 
waiting  all  day  there  in  the  icy  cold  winds  or  driving  snow, 
it  was  but  seldom  that  he  Vv'as  able  to  get  a  photograph, 
and  then  the  clouds  would  only  lift  for  a  few  minutes. 

There  was  always  plenty  to  do  at  Tingri,  so  the  time 
passed  quickly.  Much  photographic  work  had  to  be  done 
and  much  developing  and  printing  of  the  many  photographs 
that  were  being  sent  in  by  the  various  members  of  the  party. 
Supplies  had  also  to  be  sent  out  and  arrangements  made 
for  the  comforts  of  the  climbing  party  in  the  Kongbuk  Valley. 
There  were  also  several  expeditions  to  be  made  round  Tingri, 
and  these  were  full  of  interest.  Anemometers  were  very 
popular  in  this  district ;  they  were  fixed  by  the  Tibetans 
above  small  prayer  wheels,  and  owing  to  the  constant  winds, 
it  was  seldom  that  the  prayer  wheels  were  not  revolving. 
Many  yaks'  horns,  carved  all  over  with  prayers,  were  lying 
about  on  the  different  Chortens  or  Mani  walls.  The  barley, 
which  was  only  just  coming  up  when  we  arrived,  was  now 
18  inches  high  and  coming  into  ear,  and  though  we  were 

98 


THE   MOVE   TO   KHARTA  99 

over  14,000  feet,  the  crops  looked  very  healthy  and  even. 
Every  evening  during  this  period  we  had  heavy  storms  of 
rain  with  much  lightning  and  thunder,  and  fresh  snow  used 
to  fall  during  the  night  as  low  as  15,000  feet,  but  most  of  it 
melted  again  during  the  day.  During  this  period  the  plains 
round  Tingri  were  rapidly  becoming  marshes  and  the  rivers 
quite  unfordable.  The  storms  always  gathered  to  the  North 
of  us,  along  the  Sipri  limestone  ridge,  and  the  high  mountain 
chain  that  formed  the  watershed  between  the  Brahmaputra 
and  the  Bhong-chu.  These  storms  generally  worked  down 
towards  the  South.  Occasionally  fine  days  came  to  us 
when  there  was  a  strong  South  wind  to  blow  the  rain  back, 
and  it  was  seldom  that  the  Monsoon  clouds  brought  rain 
directly  to  us  from  the  South.  The  Sipri  range  was  a  very 
conspicuous  limestone  range  to  the  North  of  us,  the  limestone 
being  worn  into  the  most  curious  shapes.  It  was  looked 
upon  by  the  Tibetans  as  being  a  holy  mountain,  and  on  its 
slopes  were  many  small  monasteries.  Hermits  also  took 
up  their  abode  in  the  limestone  caves  below  the  summit. 
Pilgrims  used  to  come  from  great  distances  to  make  the 
circuit  of  the  mountain.  This  took  generally  five  days, 
and  much  merit  was  acquired  by  doing  so. 

On  July  17  I  made  an  excursion  out  to  the  Hot  Springs 
at  Tsamda,  about  7  miles  away  to  the  North-west  across 
the  plain.  The  valley  of  the  Bhong-chu  narrows  there  for 
a  few  miles  before  opening  out  again  into  the  wide  Sutso 
Plain.  There  were  two  or  three  hot  springs  here,  but  only 
one  large  one,  and  this  was  enclosed  by  walls  within  which 
were  little  stone  huts  in  which  people  could  change  their 
clothes.  The  water  was  just  the  right  temperature  for  a 
nice  hot  bath.  When  I  went  there,  there  was  one  man 
bathing  and  also  washing  his  clothes  in  it.  The  Tibetans 
said,  however,  that  this  was  not  the  proper  season  for  bathing. 
The  autumn  was  the  correct  time  for  them  to  have  their 
annual  bath  before  the  winter  sets  in.  The  water  was  saline 
and  had,  I  think,  a  little  iron  in  it,  but  was  not  very 
unpleasant  to  the  taste.      The  rocks  from  which  it  gushes 


100     THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

out  are  very  extraordinary,  the  strata  forming  a  very  steep 
arch,  on  the  top  of  which  there  is  a  crack,  from  the  very 
end  of  which,  and  at  its  lowest  point,  the  springs  came 
bubbling  out.  Near  by  in  the  valley  there  were  also  a  good 
many  saline  deposits.  In  one  of  the  smaller  springs  there 
were  a  number  of  Uttle  pink  worm-hke  animals  that  were 
swimming  about  and  clinging  with  their  mouths  to  the 
sides  of  the  rock.  Riding  back  to  Tingri  by  a  different  way 
across  the  plain,  I  saw  a  number  of  kiang  and  a  few  goa, 
but  they  were  very  wild  and  would  not  aUow  us  to  approach 
to  within  500  yards.  I  also  passed  three  of  the  handsome 
black-necked  cranes.  The  way  across  the  plain  was  rather 
boggy,  and  we  had  some  difficulty  in  finding  it.  When 
I  got  back  I  found  that  Heron  had  come  in  for  a  couple  of 
nights,  and  the  following  day  Wheeler  too  joined  us,  having 
walked  in  from  Nezogu,  the  bridge  over  the  Kyetrak  River. 
He  was  anxious  to  develop  some  photographs,  and  as  the 
weather  was  very  bad,  he  could  do  no  good  by  remaining 
in  his  high  camp. 

On  July  20  we  had  very  brilHant  flashes  of  Hghtning, 
followed  by  a  heavy  storm  of  rain  during  the  night.  This 
was  too  much  for  the  flat  earth  roof  of  the  rest-house,  and 
the  water  poured  into  all  our  rooms,  causiag  us  to  move 
our  beds  many  times  during  the  night  in  search  of  a  dry 
spot.  I  started  ofl  early  in  the  morning  as  I  had  intended 
to  climb  the  hills  to  the  East  of  Tingri,  but  the  rain  that 
had  fallen  at  Tingri  had  meant  a  heavy  fall  of  snow  on  the 
mountains  and  the  snow  had  fallen  as  low  down  as  15,000 
feet.  We  passed  several  goa  on  the  way,  but  they  were  too 
shy  to  allow  us  to  get  a  shot,  also  some  kiang,  which  were 
very  tame,  and  showed  up  well  in  the  snow.  As  we  got 
higher,  the  snow  became  about  4  inches  deep,  but  was 
melting  rapidly.  The  glare  and  the  heat  were  intense.  I 
saw  a  good  many  flocks  of  burhel,  but  no  very  large  heads. 
The  views  as  I  followed  the  crests  of  the  hills  were  extremely 
fine  ;  on  the  North  I  looked  down  into  the  valley  of  the 
Bhong-chu,  which  was  in  flood  and  had  filled  the  whole  of 


THE  MOVE  TO   KHARTA  101 

the  bottom  of  the  valley  with  water,  and  on  the  other  side 
I  looked  over  the  Tingri  Plain  to  the  great  range  of  snow 
peaks  which  finally  ended  in  the  mighty  mass  of  Gosainthan. 
The  weather  had  been  very  hot  and  oppressive  all  day, 
and  as  usual  in  the  evening  we  had  another  very  severe 
thunderstorm  with  heavy  rain  all  through  the  night.  The 
following  day  was  more  like  an  English  November  day^- 
cold  and  grey  with  drizzling  rain — and  with  the  snow  on 
the  hills  down  to  15,000  feet.  I  bought  a  Tibetan  pony 
during  the  morning  for  the  large  sum  of  £7.  It  was  a  bay, 
an  excellent  ambler,  and  very  surefooted.  The  Tibetan 
name  by  which  he  was  known  was  Dug-dra-kyang-po,  which 
means  "  The  bay  pony  like  a  dragon." 

I  went  over  to  have  lunch  with  the  Depon's  representa- 
tive. His  family  were  all  dressed  up  very  smartly  for  the 
occasion,  the  women  folk  wearing  their  best  head-dresses 
of  turquoises,  coral  and  pearls.  He  gave  us  rice  and  raisins 
as  a  hors  cfceuvre,  and  an  entree  of  junket,  followed  by  some 
pickled  turnips,  which  I  thought  very  nasty,  after  which 
we  had  the  usual  macaroni  and  mince.  He  had  been  very 
friendly  and  kindly  to  us  the  whole  time  that  we  were  at 
Tingri,  and  had  always  supplied  us  with  everything  we  asked 
for.  On  July  22  we  saw  a  very  fine  solar  halo  with  well- 
marked  rings  of  yellow,  brown,  green  and  white,  but  the 
rain  continued  steadily  nearly  all  the  time.  The  day  before 
we  were  to  leave  Tingri  I  sent  away  my  orderly,  together 
with  two  coohes  who  had  been  sick,  and  whom  the  doctor 
had  recommended  that  we  should  send  back  to  Darjeeling. 
They  were  given  sufficient  food  to  take  them  back  to 
Darjeeling  and  an  extra  fifteen  days'  pay,  the  orderly  also 
being  given  a  horse  to  ride.  Towards  evening  the  weather 
improved  and  we  had  some  lovely  views  of  Mount  Everest 
and  that  great  group  of  snow  peaks  of  which  Cho-Uyo  is 
the  highest.  They  all  looked  very  white  under  their  new 
coating  of  snow,  which  lies  thickly  down  to  16,000  feet. 

On  July  24  we  eventually  got  off  from  Tingri ;  the  last 
few  days  had  been  spent  in  packing  up  and  re-arranging 


102     THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

aU  the  stores.  There  was  the  usual  talking,  shouting  and 
arguing,  but  aU  the  loads  were  eventually  packed  on  to 
the  animals,  or  loaded  on  to  the  backs  of  the  coolies  by 
nine  o'clock.  We  then  took  a  last  farewell  of  the  Depon's 
representative,  who  was  very  sorry  to  see  us  go,  and  who 
had  done  so  much  to  make  our  stay  pleasant  there. 

The  first  march  was  to  Nezogu,  where  there  was  a  bridge 
over  the  Kyetrak;  this  was  about  19  miles,  partly  across 
the  Tingri  Plain  and  then  over  a  tiresome  moraine.  While 
crossing  the  moraine,  I  shot  a  goa  which  had  quite  a  good 
head.  Wheeler  had  accompanied  me,  as  he  had  left  his 
camp  at  the  bridge,  and  on  arrival  there  we  found  his 
tents  all  pitched  and  his  cook  waiting  ready  to  receive  us. 
Our  own  kit  did  not  arrive  till  it  was  getting  dark,  when 
the  weather  looked  very  ominous.  Rain  fell  steadily  most 
of  the  night,  and  just  before  dawn  this  turned  to  snow, 
so  that  when  we  woke  up  there  were  a  couple  of  inches  of 
fresh  snow  on  the  ground.  As  it  was  still  snowing  steadily, 
we  were  in  no  great  hurry  to  start,  and  did  not  get  off  until 
nine  o'clock.  The  weather  than  gradually  improved  and 
the  fresh  snow  soon  melted,  though  the  ground  was  left 
in  a  very  boggy  condition.  The  march  to  Chobu  was  about 
15  miles  over  the  easy  Lamna  Pass.  Knowing  the  way,  I 
chmbed  on  to  a  ridge  to  the  South,  where  I  had  a  fine  view 
again  of  Mount  Everest  and  the  Rongbuk  Valley.  We 
pitclied  our  camp  on  the  far  side  of  the  Rongbuk  River, 
our  loads  being  carried  across  the  frail  bridge  by  the  villagers, 
and  our  ponies  being  swum  across.  Here  Mallory  and 
Bullock  joined  us.  They  had  been  experiencing  latterly 
very  bad  weather  in  the  Upper  Rongbuk  Valley,  and 
constant  heavy  faUs  of  snow  had  seriously  hindered  their 
reconnaissance  work.  Their  coolies,  too,  were  getting 
rather  tired  and  stale  from  remaining  at  such  heights  for 
a  considerable  time,  and  were  badly  in  want  of  a  rest.  I 
had  therefore  arranged  for  them  to  meet  me  here  and  to 
accompany  me  round  to  Kharta,  from  which  place  they 
could  then  explore  the  Eastern  approaches  of  Mount  Everest. 


THE   MOVE   TO   KHARTA  103 

During  the  night  I  suffered  much  from  inflammation  of  the 
eyes,  due  to  the  snow  that  had  fallen  the  day  before.  They 
were  so  painful  as  to  make  sleep  quite  impossible.  I  was 
not,  however,  the  only  one  to  suffer,  as  Chheten  Wangdi, 
the  interpreter,  Acchu,  the  cook,  and  several  of  the  coolies 
that  were  with  me  were  all  suffering  from  the  same  com- 
plaint in  the  morning.  Though  the  sun  had  not  been 
shining  and  the  day  had  been  misty,  the  glare  from  the 
new  snow  had  been  very  much  more  powerful  than  anything 
we  had  expected  and  taught  us  a  lesson  that  whenever 
there  was  the  slightest  fall  of  snow,  we  should  always  wear 
our  snow  goggles.  From  Chobu  we  marched  to  Rebu — 
a  distance  of  about  15  miles.  Knowing  the  way,  I  took 
Mallory  and  Bullock  by  the  upper  road  over  a  pass  to 
Halung  ;  from  the  top  of  this  pass  we  branched  off  on  to 
a  spur  where  there  was  a  very  fine  view  of  Mount  Everest 
and  the  mountains  to  the  North  and  North-east  of  it. 
There  had  been  so  much  fresh  snow  everywhere  that  it 
was  often  very  difficult  to  recognize  the  peaks,  but  Mount 
Everest  from  this  side  looked  as  impossible  as  ever  with 
the  great  black  bands  of  perpendicular  cliffs  that  seemed 
to  encircle  it. 

The  day  was  actually  fine  and  the  march  was  a  pleasant 
one  through  a  fertile  valley  full  of  fields  of  barley,  mustard 
and  peas.  The  wild  flowers  all  round  Rebu  were  still  very 
beautiful.  Our  camp  was  pitched  on  a  grassy  spot  on  the 
bank  of  a  rushing  stream  and  close  to  the  village  of  Rebu. 

The  following  morning  the  weather  was  again  fine,  and  as 
the  yaks  were  all  ready  for  us,  we  were  started  by  7.30  a.m. 
This  start  was  quite  amusing  ;  we  ourselves  had  first  to  cross 
a  flooded  stream  over  which  there  was  a  very  wobbly 
stone  bridge.  With  much  excitement  and  noise  the  yaks 
were  then  driven  across  the  stream,  but  the  current  was 
too  strong  for  the  bullocks,  which  had  to  be  unloaded 
and  their  loads  carried  over.  While  this  was  being  done, 
the  bridge  collapsed,  and  a  good  lady  and  a  bullock  that 
were    trying    to    get    over   by  the  bridge   all    fell   into   the 


104     THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

water  together.  There  was  then  a  terrible  excitement  and 
mix-up,  every  one  shouting  and  screaming,  but  they  both 
scrambled  safely  to  the  shore,  and  beyond  a  wetting,  no 
one  was  any  the  worse.  We  then  took  the  road  that  I  had 
travelled  three  weeks  before  over  the  Doya  La.  Knowing 
that  there  was  a  good  view  to  be  got  from  the  top  of  the 
pass,  I  hurried  ahead  and  climbed  a  rocky  hiU,  17,700  feet, 
close  to  the  pass,  where  I  saw  a  wonderful  scene.  Range 
upon  range  of  snowy  mountains  extended  right  away  to 
Kanchenjunga,  and  the  course  of  the  Arun  could  be  traced 
wandering  down  through  Nepal,  while  to  the  South  towered 
up  the  great  walls  of  Makalu.  Mount  Everest  itself  I  could 
not  see,  as  there  were  a  good  many  clouds  about,  but  to  the 
South-west  were  some  fine  snow  and  rock  peaks  of  which 
I  took  several  photographs.  I  then  basked  in  the  sun  for 
a  couple  of  hours  and  enjoyed  the  view.  The  wild  flowers 
on  the  top  of  the  pass  were  delightful ;  I  found  three  different 
kinds  of  gentians  and  the  blue  poppies  were  as  numerous  as 
ever.  The  primulas,  however,  had  many  of  them  already 
gone  to  seed,  but  the  saxifrages  still  covered  the  rocks, 
and  it  was  a  delight  to  wander  along  and  note  the  different 
varieties.  Riding  on  to  Chulungphu,  we  found  tents  pitched 
for  us  and  fuel  and  milk  all  ready.  In  place  of  the  primulas 
the  ground  was  now  carpeted  with  gentians.  From  here 
to  Kharta  the  march  was  only  a  short  one,  but  we  thoroughly 
enjoyed  riding  along  between  the  bushes  of  wild  rose  or 
juniper.  The  former  were  no  longer  in  blossom,  but  there 
were  many  other  new  varieties  of  flowers  appearing.  I 
rode  on  ahead  to  the  spot  that  I  had  chosen,  three  weeks 
previously,  for  our  new  base  camp,  and  I  found  that  Hopa- 
phema  had  already  pitched  some  tents  for  us.  He  had  also 
prepared  a  meal  for  us  and  made  every  arrangement  for 
our  comfort.  Our  camp  was  pitched  under  the  willows 
and  poplar  trees  in  the  garden,  and  it  was  pleasant  to  hear 
the  rustle  of  the  leaves  in  the  wind  once  more.  We  were 
now  at  a  height  of  only  12,300  feet,  and  the  change  in 
altitude  was  a  very  great  reUef  to  the  climbing  party  and 


THE  MOVE  TO  KHARTA  105 

the  coolies  who  had  come  down  from  the  high  camps. 
There  were  also  plenty  of  green  vegetables  to  be  got  here, 
and  the  coolies  appreciated  the  change  enormously.  Just 
below  us  flowed  the  Arun,  now  a  majestic  river  over  a 
hundred  yards  wide.  A  mile  lower  down  in  its  course  it 
entered  into  the  great  gorges  in  which  within  a  space  of 
20  miles  it  dropped  from  12,000  feet  to  7,500  feet,  a  drop 
of  over  200  feet  in  the  mile.  From  our  camp  we  used  to 
watch  the  Monsoon  clouds  come  up  every  day  through  the 
gorge  in  thin  wisps,  but  every  day  they  melted  away  always 
at  the  same  spot ;  and  though  rain  fell  heavily  a  mile  below 
us,  yet  with  us  the  sun  shone  brightly,  and  it  was  rare  for 
any  rain  to  reach  us.  Twenty  miles  away  to  the  North 
again  were  heavy  clouds  and  storms,  and  rain  fell  there 
daily,  so  that  we  seemed  to  be  hving  in  a  dry  zone  between 
the  two  storm  systems.  The  forests  of  fir  and  birch  trees 
came  up  to  the  limit  of  the  rainfall  and  then  ceased  suddenly 
where  the  rain  stopped  a  mile  below  us.  At  this  point  the 
Kharta  River  formed  a  sharp  dividing  fine  between  the  wet 
and  dry  zones. 

The  next  day  was  spent  in  settling  down,  arranging  all 
our  stores  and  making  a  new  dark  room  in  the  house  we 
had  rented.  The  climate  here  was  delicious  and  a  great 
change  from  Tingri.  The  temperature  in  my  tent  used  to 
go  up  to  75°  Fahr.  during  the  day. 

The  day  after  we  arrived  the  Jongpen  came  down  to 
pay  an  official  call  and  brought  a  welcome  present  of  a 
hundred  eggs  and  five  animals  laden  with  fuel.  He  apolo- 
gised for  not  coming  the  day  before,  but  said  he  had  been 
very  busy  trying  a  murder  case  where  eighteen  people 
had  been  poisoned  by  a  family  that  had  a  feud  with  them, 
the  poison  used  being  aconite,  with  which  they  were  evidently 
quite  familiar.  He  told  us  that  our  coolies  could  collect 
fuel  anj^where  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Kharta  River,  but 
begged  that  we  would  not  collect  it  anywhere  near  where 
we  were  Hving,  as  the  villagers  would  object. 

On  July  30  I  started  off  to  explore  a  neighbouring  pass 


106     THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

and  valley  which  looked  interesting.  Mallory  and  Bullock 
were  having  a  few  days'  rest  before  starting  off  again,  and 
so  they  remained  in  camp.  Riding  a  few  miles  up  the  Kharta 
Valley,  I  crossed  the  river  by  a  bridge  at  the  first  village, 
and  then  had  a  very  steep  and  stony  climb  of  nearly  3,000 
feet  to  the  Samchung  Pass,  15,000  feet.  As  we  approached 
the  pass,  and  entered  a  moister  climate,  the  vegetation 
increased  rapidly.  On  these  slopes  there  were  rhododen- 
drons 5  feet  high,  mountain  ash,  birch,  willows,  spiraeas 
and  juniper.  At  the  top  of  the  pass  there  was  not  much  of 
a  view,  but  prowling  round  I  came  across  some  very  fine 
saussurseas  with  their  great  white  woolly  heads  and  a 
wonderful  meconopsis  of  a  deep  claret  colour  that  I  had  never 
seen  before.  There  were  fifteen  to  twenty  flowers  on  each 
stem,  and  it  grew  from  2  to  3  feet  high.  Eight  varieties 
of  gentians  also  grew  in  the  same  valley,  and  a  quantity  of 
other  attractive  Alpine  plants.  From  the  pass  we  descended 
about  500  feet  into  a  delightful  high  level  glen  full  of  small 
lakes,  evidently  once  upon  a  time  formed  by  glaciers  which 
must  have  filled  the  whole  of  the  valley.  I  counted  fourteen 
lakes  in  this  valley,  two  or  three  of  them  being  nearly  half 
a  mile  long,  and  all  of  them  of  different  colours  varying 
from  a  turquoise  blue  to  green  and  black.  For  some  miles 
we  rode  and  walked  up  the  valley.  The  road  consisted  of 
big  loose  stones,  often  with  water  flowing  underneath  them, 
and  usually  with  big  holes  in  between,  so  that  our  ponies 
were  lucky  in  not  breaking  their  legs.  There  was  then 
a  steep  climb  which  brought  us  on  to  a  second  pass,  the 
Chog  La,  16,100  feet,  close  to  which  were  three  small  glaciers. 
Across  the  top  of  the  pass  there  was  a  wall  built  many  years 
ago  as  a  second  line  of  defence  against  the  Gurkhas,  the 
first  line  being  on  the  top  of  the  Popti  Pass.  Unfortunately 
the  clouds  now  came  up,  and  it  began  to  rain,  so  that  we 
had  no  view  into  the  Kama  Valley,  though  later  on  I  was 
to  make  the  acquaintance  of  this  most  charming  valley. 
For  an  hour  and  a  half  I  sheltered  behind  the  wall,  but 
as    the  clouds  did    not    lift    I    returned    towards    Kharta. 


THE  MOVE  TO  KHARTA  107 

As  we  descended  into  the  valley  again  the  glimpses  of  the 
lakes  seen  between  the  mists  reminded  me  much  of  the 
upper  lakes  at  Killarney.  There  were  the  same  ferns, 
willows,  birch  and  rhododendrons,  and  much  the  same 
moist  atmosphere. 

Next  day,  with  Bullock,  I  went  to  pay  an  official  visit 
to  the  Jongpcn  at  Kharta  Shiga.  He  had  made  great  pre- 
parations to  receive  us,  and  had  put  up  a  large  tent  in  which 
Chinese  carpets  and  tables  were  set  out  with  pots  of  flowers 
arranged  all  round.  Soon  after  our  arrival  we  were  given 
a  most  copious  meal :  bowl  after  bowl  of  well  cooked  macaroni 
and  mince  with  pickled  radishes  and  chillies  were  set  before 
us.  After  we  had  finished  this  meal,  I  induced  the  Jongpen 
and  his  young  wife  to  be  photographed.  She  had  a  most 
elaborate  head-dress  of  coral  and  pearls,  with  masses  of 
false  hail'  on  either  side  of  her  head.  It  was  not  becoming. 
Barely  had  we  finished  taking  the  photograph  when  another 
meal  was  put  in  front  of  us  :  this  time  it  consisted  of  Tibetan 
dumplings  and  mince  patties,  of  which  I  gave  the  Jongpen' s 
Httle  dog  the  greater  part  surreptitiously ;  I  then  hurried 
off  before  I  should  be  compelled  to  eat  a  third  meal. 

On  August  2  Mallory  and  Bullock  started  of!  with  thirty- 
two  coohes  to  explore  the  Eastern  approaches  to  Mount 
Everest.  It  had  been  very  hard  to  get  any  information 
about  Mount  Everest.  The  people  knew  the  mountain  by 
name,  but  told  us  that  the  only  way  to  get  near  it  was  by 
crossing  over  the  ridge  to  the  South  of  the  Kharta  Valley, 
when  we  should  find  a  big  valley  that  would  lead  right  up 
to  Chomo-lungma.  Where  the  Kharta  River  came  from 
they  could  not  tell  me,  and  whether  it  took  its  source  from 
the  snows  of  Mount  Everest  they  did  not  know.  Tibetans' 
ignorance  of  any  valleys  outside  their  own  was  really  extra- 
ordinary. I  could  seldom  get  any  definite  information  about 
places  outside  their  valley,  and  on  asking  two  or  three 
people,  they  would  invariably  give  contradictory  answers. 
It  was  the  same  as  regards  distance.  They  would  tell  you 
a  place  was  one,  two  or  three  days'  march  away,  but  for 


108     THE   NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

shorter  distances  they  had  no  time-table,  and  the  nearest 
approach  to  this  was  a  measurement  by  cups  of  tea.  I 
remember  one  day  asking  a  village  yokel  how  far  off  the 
next  village  was,  and  he  surprised  me  by  answering,  "  Three 
cups  of  tea."  Several  times  afterwards  I  got  the  answer 
to  a  question  about  distance  given  me  in  cups  of  tea,  and 
I  eventually  worked  out  that  three  cups  of  tea  was  the 
equivalent  of  about  5  miles,  and  was  after  that  able  to  use 
this  as  a  basis  for  measurements  of  distances. 

Two  or  three  hours  after  Mallory  and  BuUock  had  gone, 
WoUaston  and  Morshead  arrived  from  their  trip  to  Nyenyam. 
They  had  had  bad  weather  the  whole  time.  Here,  too, 
the  weather  remained  overcast  and  threatening,  with  a  strong 
South  wind,  the  mountains  remaining  covered  in  clouds 
above  16,000  feet.  To  the  South  of  us  rain  fell  steadily 
all  day,  but  the  rain  did  not  come  up  as  far  as  our  camp. 
One  afternoon  Morshead,  Wollaston  and  I  went  over  to 
have  tea  with  our  hospitable  Zemindar  Hopaphema  about 
a  mile  away  from  us.  On  this  occasion  he  gave  us  pods  of 
fresh  peas  and  the  red  hips  and  haws  of  the  wild  rose  as  a 
kind  of  hors  d'oeuvre,  followed  by  a  junket  served  with  pea 
flour.  Then  came  bowls  of  hot  milk  with  macaroni  and 
minced  meat,  seasoned  with  chiUies,  together  with  potatoes 
and  a  kind  of  fungus  that  grew  in  the  woods.  After  this 
meal,  from  which  we  suffered  no  ill  effects,  for  our  stomachs 
were  getting  accustomed  to  queer  foods,  he  produced  an 
old  painted  musical  instrument  with  two  sounding  boards, 
on  which  he  played  and  sang  at  the  same  time  some  old 
Tibetan  love  songs.  Some  of  these  had  quite  a  catching 
and  plaintive  melody.  He  showed  us  also  some  Tibetan 
dances.  Our  interpreter,  unfortunately,  refused  to  give  us 
a  literal  translation  of  some  of  the  love  songs,  though  he 
seemed  very  amused  at  them. 

Another  afternoon  I  rode  with  Wollaston  some  5  miles 
up  the  Kharta  Valley  to  the  Gandcnchofel  Monastery. 
This  was  situated  in  a  delightfully  sheltered  spot  surrounded 
by  poplars  and  ancient  gnarled  juniper  trees  of  great  size. 


THE  MOVE   TO   KHARTA  109 

On  arrival  we  were  shown  into  a  picturesque  courtyard, 
the  walls  of  which  were  covered  with  paintings  depicting 
scenes  from  the  life  of  Buddha.  Cushions  and  tables  had 
been  arranged  for  our  reception  and  placed  on  a  verandah 
where,  on  arrival,  we  were  given  cups  of  tea  and  hot  milk. 
The  Head  Lama  presently  came  out  and  after  taking  some 
tea  with  us,  proceeded  to  show  us  round  his  temple.  This 
was  a  curious  building,  square  in  shape,  and  surmounted 
by  a  cupola.  It  was  very  soHdly  built  of  stone  and  was, 
they  told  us,  about  500  years  old.  It  was  founded  by  a 
saint  called  Jetsun-Nga-Wang-Chhofel,  who  after  a  great 
flood  which  swept  down  the  valley,  destroying  all  the  houses 
in  it,  had  taken  a  large  frog  (which  animal  is  believed  to 
represent  the  Water  God)  and  buried  it  under  the  centre 
pillar  of  the  temple.  With  great  reverence  they  showed 
us  the  spot  under  which  this  unfortunate  frog  had  been 
immured  in  the  centre  of  the  shrine.  This  immolation  of 
the  frog  had  apparently  not  been  completely  efficacious  in 
preventing  the  floods  as  two  other  floods  had  subsequently 
occurred,  and  two  small  Chortens  had  been  erected  to  make 
quite  certain  that  the  frog  could  not  get  out  again  and  cause 
more  floods.  The  interior  of  the  temple  was  very  dark 
in  spite  of  numerous  butter  lamps.  As  our  eyes  gradually 
became  accustomed  to  the  dim  light,  we  made  out  three 
figures  of  Buddha — a  large  one  in  the  centre  and  smaller 
ones  on  either  side.  On  the  pillars  were  figures  of  the  saint 
who  had  founded  the  monastery.  In  this  temple  were  also 
represented  some  Indian  saints,  but  these  were  shown  as 
dark  figures,  very  black  and  very  ugly.  Tibetans  always 
despise  the  Indian  and  they  therefore  represent  him  as  quite 
black  and  with  the  ugliest  features  imaginable.  Around 
the  shrine  were  twelve  great  plaster  figures — about  12  feet 
to  15  feet  in  height — the  guardians  of  the  shrme,  figures 
monstrously  ugly,  and  evidently  made  so  in  order  to  frighten 
away  the  evil-doer.  Outside  the  sanctuary  there  was  a 
curious  passage  in  the  thickness  of  the  walls  leading  all 
round  the  buildmg,   in  which  were  stencilled  and  painted 


110     THE   NARRATIVE   OF   THE   EXPEDITION 

curious  representations  of  Buddha.  In  one  of  the  side  rooms 
there  was  a  huge  prayer  wheel,  which  rang  a  bell  every 
time  it  was  turned  ;  it  contained,  the  priests  told  us,  many 
million  prayers.  After  visiting  the  shrine,  I  took  a  photograph 
of  the  monks  with  their  long  trumpets,  their  bejewelled 
clarionets  and  their  drums.  After  our  tour  of  inspection 
we  were  given  further  refreshment  in  the  way  of  macaroni 
and  meat  in  a  small  secluded  garden  where  the  monks  used 
to  walk  reading  the  Scriptures  and  meditating. 

On  another  day  Wollaston  and  I  made  an  excursion  down 
to  the  gorges  of  the  Arun.  We  first  rode  up  the  Kharta 
Valley,  crossing  the  river  by  the  first  bridge,  and  then  following 
the  right  bank  of  the  river  as  far  as  we  could  go.  After 
riding  only  a  short  way,  we  entered  into  a  country  and  a 
scenery  where  we  might  have  been  a  hundred  miles  away 
from  Tibet.  The  change  was  extraordinarily  sudden — 
a  dense  forest  covered  the  hillsides,  mostly  of  fir  {Abies 
Webhiana)  and  birch,  many  of  them  fine  old  trees.  The 
undergrowth  consisted  of  rhododendrons,  8  feet  to  10  feet 
in  height  and  extremely  difficult  to  get  through.  Besides 
these  there  were  many  larch  and  willow  trees  growing  on 
the  hillside,  together  with  many  new  and  delightful  flowers. 
We  went  on  until  we  were  brought  up  by  a  series  of  per- 
pendicular cliffs  that  descended  700  feet  sheer  down  to  the 
river  below  us.  It  was  a  grand  sight  from  here  to  see  the 
mighty  Bhong-chu  or  Arun  River,  narrowed  now  to  one-third 
of  its  former  width,  forcing  its  way  in  a  series  of  rapids 
through  these  stupendous  gorges  covered  with  woods  wherever 
the  precipices  allowed  a  tree  to  grow  and  with  trees  dipping 
their  branches  far  below  us  in  the  flooded  waters  of  the 
river.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  gorge  we  saw  a  small 
track  wandering  along  the  cliffs  ;  the  inhabitants  told  us 
it  was  impossible  to  get  across  the  river  lower  down  at  this 
time  of  the  year  until  you  reach  Lungdo,  where  there  was  a 
bridge  some  20  miles  lower  down.  Kharta  now  remained 
the  base  headquarters  of  the  Expedition  until  it  was  time 
to  return  to  India  in  October,  and  all  the  expeditions  that 


n  I  f  \ 


THE  MOVE   TO   KHARTA  111 

we  made  up  the  Kharta  Valley,  or  into  the  Kama  Valley, 
were  made  from  Kharta.  The  Jongpen  there  and  Hopaphema 
did  everything  they  could  to  assist  us  by  giving  us  coolies 
and  arranging  for  supplies  to  be  sent  up  to  the  various 
camps. 


CHAPTER  VII 
THE  KAMA  VALLEY 

We  had  not  been  able  to  gather  much  information  locally 
about  Mount  Everest.  A  few  of  the  shepherds  said  that 
they  had  heard  that  there  was  a  great  mountain  in  the  next 
valley  to  the  South,  but  they  could  not  tell  us  whether 
the  Kharta  River  came  from  this  great  mountain.  The 
easiest  way  to  get  to  this  valley,  they  told  us,  was  by  crossing 
the  Shao  La,  or  the  Langma  La,  both  of  which  passes  were 
to  the  South  of  the  Kharta  Valley,  and,  they  said,  led  into 
this  new  vaUey.  They  called  this  valley  the  Kama  Valley, 
and  Httle  did  we  reahse  at  the  time  that  in  it  we  were  going 
to  find  one  of  the  most  beautiful  valleys  in  the  world.  Mallory 
and  Bullock  had  already  left  Kharta  on  August  2  to  explore 
this  route,  which  we  thought  would  lead  us  to  the  Eastern 
face  of  Mount  Everest.  As  WoUaston  and  Morshead  had 
now  arrived  at  Kharta,  there  was  nothing  to  prevent  my 
followuig  the  others  and  learning  something  about  the 
geography  of  the  country.  Eleven  mule-loads  of  rations, 
consisting  of  flour,  potatoes,  sugar  and  rations  for  the 
surveyors,  had  just  arrived ;  there  was  therefore  now  no 
cause  for  me  to  worry  about  shortage  of  supplies.  These 
had  been  sent  off  from  Yatung  on  June  15,  but  had  only 
arrived  at  Kharta  on  August  2.  Learning  that  I  was  about 
to  start  off,  Hopaphema,  the  old  Zemindar,  hurriedly  came 
round  with  a  large  basket  full  of  spinach,  potatoes,  and 
turnips,  which  he  insisted  on  my  taldng  with  me. 

On  August  5,  taking  with  me  Chheten  Wangdi  and  a 
dozen  coolies,  I  started  off  in  the  tracks  of  Mallory  and 
Bullock.  For  the  first  few  miles  we  travelled  up  the  Kharta 
Valley,  through  rich  fields  of  barley,  by  far  the  best  that  I 

112 


THE   KAMA   VALLEY  113 

had  seen  so  far  in  Tibet.  The  crops  were  very  even  and 
everywhere  quite  3  feet  in  heiglit.  The  valley  was  thickly 
inhabited,  containing  villages  nearly  every  mile,  and  many 
monasteries,  some  of  which  were  surrounded  by  fine  old 
gnarled  juniper  trees.  Our  local  coolies  made  very  poor 
progress,  taking  six  hours  to  cover  the  first  6  miles,  as 
they  stopped  at  every  village  for  a  drink.  After  passing 
the  last  village,  there  was  a  steep  climb  of  1,000  feet.  Here 
our  coolies  were  very  anxious  to  stop  and  spend  the  night, 
but  I  pushed  on  ahead,  and  they  came  on  behind  very  slowly 
and  reluctantly.  Seeing  that  it  was  impossible  to  get  over 
the  Langma  La,  I  stopped  at  the  limit  of  firewood  and  camped 
at  a  height  of  16,100  feet.  Poo,  who  was  acting  as  my  cook, 
had  forgotten  to  bring  any  matches  with  him,  and  I  watched 
him  with  much  interest  lighting  a  fire  of  damp  rhododendron 
bushes  with  the  flint  and  tinder  that  he  always  carried. 
The  day  had  been  clear  and  very  warm  ;  and  on  the  way 
up  we  had  had  some  fine  views  of  the  great  snowy  peaks 
on  the  Eastern  side  of  the  Arun  River.  The  villagers  had 
told  us  that  this  pass  was  impossible  for  ponies,  and  I  accord- 
ingty  left  mine  behind  at  Kharta,  though  we  found  out  that 
ponies  could  quite  well  have  crossed  the  pass.  Opposite 
our  camp  was  a  peak  of  black  rock  with  a  glacier  just  below 
it.  During  the  night  there  was  a  little  rain  and  the  morning 
was  unfortunately  cloudy.  As  our  coolies  had  informed  us 
that  there  were  three  passes  to  be  crossed  in  the  next  march, 
I  had  them  all  started  off  by  5.30  a.m.,  after  which  I  left 
with  my  coolies,  Ang  Tenze  and  Nyima  Tendu,  who  always 
accompanied  me  carrying  a  rifle,  a  shot-gun  and  three  cameras 
of  different  sizes.  Above  the  camp  there  was  a  steep  cHmb 
of  1,000  feet  on  to  a  broad,  rocky  shelf  in  which  was  a  pretty 
turquoise-blue  lake.  This  was  followed  by  another  steep  cHmb 
of  500  feet  on  to  another  great  shelf,  after  which  a  further 
climb  of  500  feet  brought  us  to  the  top  of  the  Langma  La, 
18,000  feet.  The  three  steps  up  to  this  pass  were  evidently 
the  three  passes  that  the  coolies  had  told  us  about,  as  from 
the  top  we  looked  down  into  the  next  vaUey.    AU  the  coolies 

M.E.  I 


114     THE   NARRATIVE   OF   THE   EXPEDITION 

who  were  carrjdng  loads  complained  of  headaches,  due  no 
doubt  to  the  steep  climb  and  the  high  elevation  of  the  pass. 
To  the  East  there  was  a  curious  view  looking  over  the  Arun 
towards  some  high  snow  peaks.  Clouds  were  lymg  in  patches 
everywhere  on  the  hillsides,  as  the  air  was  saturated  with 
moisture.  To  the  West  our  gaze  encountered  a  most  wonderful 
amphitheatre  of  peaks  and  glaciers.  Three  great  glaciers 
almost  met  in  the  deep  green  valley  that  lay  at  our  feet. 
One  of  these  glaciers  evidently  came  down  from  Mount 
Everest,  the  second  from  the  beautiful  chffs  of  Chomolonzo, 
the  Northern  peak  of  Makalu,  of  which  we  unfortunately 
could  only  get  occasional  and  partial  glimpses,  an  ice  or 
rock  chff  peeping  out  of  the  clouds  every  now  and  then  at 
mcredible  heights  above  us.  The  third  glacier  came  from 
Kama  Changri,  a  fine  peak  to  the  North  of  the  Kama  VaUey 
which  later  on  we  climbed.  The  clouds  kept  mostly  at  a  height 
of  about  22,000  feet,  and  prevented  us  from  seeing  the  tops 
of  the  mountains.  After  waiting  for  an  hour  at  the  top  of 
the  pass  in  hopes  of  the  clouds  lifting,  I  started  the  descent, 
catching  on  the  way  a  very  pretty  Marmot  rat,  with  huge 
eyes  and  ears  for  his  size,  and  a  pretty  bluish  grey  fur. 
Meeting  shortly  afterwards  some  of  Mallory  and  Bullock's 
coolies,  I  gave  this  animal  to  them  to  take  back  to  Wollaston. 
We  now  descended  through  grassy  uplands  for  nearly  3,000 
feet,  past  another  beautiful  blue  lake  called  Shurim  Tso, 
and  came  to  a  curious  long  and  narrow  terrace  about 
1,000  feet  above  the  bottom  of  the  valley.  Here  there 
was  a  tent  belonging  to  some  yak  herds  ;  and  as  wood  and 
water  were  plentiful  I  determined  to  stop  and  spend  the 
night  with  them.  They  called  the  place  Tangsham.  It  was 
certainly  a  most  glorious  place  for  a  camp,  for  it  overlooked 
three  great  valleys  and  glaciers.  Opposite  us,  on  the  other 
side  of  the  valley,  were  the  immense  cliffs  of  Chomolonzo, 
which  towered  up  to  nearly  26,000  feet,  while  Mount  Everest 
and  its  great  ridges  filled  up  the  head  of  the  valley.  I  spent 
the  whole  afternoon  lying  among  the  rhododendrons  at 
15,000  feet,   and  admiring  the  beautiful  glimpses  of  these 


THE   KAMA   VALLEY  115 

mighty  peaks  revealed  by  occasional  breaks  among  the 
fleecy  clouds.  The  shepherds  were  able  to  give  me  much 
information  about  the  district,  which  proved  very  useful 
to  us  afterwards.  They  come  up  here  every  year  for  a  few 
months  in  the  summer  and  in  the  winter  cross  over  to  the 
valley  of  the  Bong-chu. 

After  a  slight  frost  during  the  night,  we  had  one  of  the 
few  really  perfect  days  that  fell  to  our  lot  in  the  Kama 
VaUey.  As  soon  as  I  had  finished  breakfast  I  climbed  up 
1,000  feet  behind  the  camp ;  opposite  me  were  the 
wonderful  white  cliffs  of  Chomolonzo  and  Makalu,  which 
dropped  almost  sheer  for  11,000  feet  into  the  valley  below. 
Close  at  hand  were  precipices  of  black  rock  on  which,  in 
the  dark  hollows,  nestled  a  few  dirty  glaciers.  Mount  Everest 
being  some  way  further  off,  did  not  appear  nearly  as  imposing. 
Our  object  now  was  to  get  as  close  to  it  as  possible  ;  we 
therefore  descended  into  the  valley,  a  steep  drop  of  nearly 
1,000  feet,  through  luxuriant  vegetation.  A  very  beautiful 
blue  primula  was  just  beginning  to  come  out.  This  Wollaston 
had  already  discovered  a  fortnight  before  near  Lapchi-Kang. 
We  then  crossed  the  Rabkar  Chu,  a  stream  which  came  out 
of  the  Rabkar  Glacier,  by  a  very  rickety  bridge  over  which 
the  water  was  washing.  Beyond  this  was  a  very  fertile 
plain  covered  with  rhododendrons,  juniper,  willow  and 
mountain  ash.  On  it  were  a  couple  of  small  huts  which 
were  occupied  by  some  yak  herds.  From  here  we  had  to 
foUow  along  the  edge  of  the  Kang-do-shung  Glacier  which, 
coming  down  from  Chomolonzo,  plunges  across  the  valley 
until  it  strikes  against  the  rocks  of  the  opposite  side.  Between 
the  glacier  and  these  cliffs  was  an  old  water-course  up  which 
we  travelled,  but  stones  kept  frequently  fallmg  from  the 
cliffs  above  and  the  passage  was  somewhat  dangerous. 
This  had  evidently  been  the  old  channel  of  the  stream  that 
has  its  source  in  the  glaciers  of  Mount  Everest,  but  owing 
to  the  advance  of  the  Kang-do-shung  Glacier,  is  now  compelled 
to  find  its  way  through  this  glacier  and  hurls  itself  into  a 
great  ice  cavern  in  it.     Opposite  this  ice  cavern  we  had  a 


116     THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

steep  climb  for  500  feet,  and  found  ourselves  among  pleasant 
grassy  meadows,  after  a  few  miles  of  which  we  came  to  a  place 
called  Pethang  Ringmo,  where  we  found  some  yak  herds 
hving.  We  found  that  MaUory  and  Bullock  had  chosen  this 
place  to  be  their  base  camp.  It  was  a  most  delightfully 
sunny  spot  at  16,400  feet,  right  under  the  gigantic  and 
marvellously  beautiful  cliffs  of  Chomolonzo,  now  aU  powdered 
over  with  the  fresh  snow  of  the  night  before  and  only  separated 
from  us  by  the  Kangshung  Glacier,  here  about  a  mile  wide. 
Great  avalanches  thunder  down  its  sides  aU  the  day  long 
with  a  terrifjdng  sound.  Everest  from  here  is  seen  to  fiU 
up  the  head  of  the  valley  with  a  most  formidable  circle  of  cliffs 
overhung  by  hanging  glaciers,  but  it  is  not  nearly  such  a 
beautiful  or  striking  mountain  as  Makalu  or  Chomolonzo. 
The  shepherds  would  insist  that  Makalu  was  the  higher  of 
the  two  mountains,  and  would  not  believe  us  when  we  said 
that  Mount  Everest  was  the  higher.  Next  morning  was 
foggy,  but  there  was  a  glimpse  of  blue  sky  behind  the  mists, 
so  after  breakfast  I  hurried  up  the  valley,  intending  to  climb 
a  ridge  exactly  opposite  to  Mount  Everest  which  I  had  marked 
down  the  night  before.  After  walking  for  an  hour  up  the 
valley  in  a  thick  fog,  by  luck  I  struck  the  right  ridge,  which 
proved  a  very  steep  chmb.  Glimpses  of  blue  sky  and  white 
peaks,  however,  gave  us  hopes  of  better  views  higher  up. 
It  took  me  two  and  a  half  hours  to  climb  3,000  feet,  which 
at  last  brought  me  above  the  mists.  The  top  of  the  ridge 
was  19,500  feet  high,  and  from  it  we  had  most  superb  views. 
Mount  Everest  was  only  3  or  4  miles  away  from  us.  From 
it  to  the  South-east  swept  a  huge  amphitheatre  of  mighty 
peaks  culminating  in  a  new  and  unsurveyed  peak,  28,100  feet 
in  height,  to  which  we  gave  the  name  of  Lhotse,  which  in 
Tibetan  means  the  South  Peak.  From  this  side  the  mountain 
appeared  quite  unclimbable,  as  the  cliffs  were  all  topped 
with  hanging  glaciers,  from  which  great  masses  of  ice  came 
thundering  down  into  the  valley  below  all  the  day  long. 
Between  Mount  Everest  and  Makalu,  on  the  watershed 
between  Tibet  and  Nepal,  there  stands  up  a  very  curious 


Cliffs  oi-  Chumohinzo 
from  camp  at  Pethang  Ringmo. 


THE   KAMA   VALLEY  117 

conical  peak,  to  which  we  gave  the  name  of  Pethangtse. 
On  either  side  of  it  are  two  very  steep,  but  not  very  high, 
passes  into  Nepal ;  both  of  them  are,  however,  probably 
unclimbable.  To  the  South-east  towered  up  the  immense 
cliffs  of  Makalu,  far  the  more  beautiful  mountain  of  the 
two.  The  whole  morning  I  spent  on  this  ridge,  taldng 
photographs  whenever  opportunity  offered.  The  clouds 
kept  coming  up  and  melting  away  again  and  were  most 
annoying,  but  they  occasionally  afforded  us  the  most  beautiful 
glimpses  and  peeps  of  the  snow  and  rock  peaks  by  which 
we  were  surrounded.  At  a  height  of  over  19,000  feet,  I  had 
a  great  chase  after  a  new  kind  of  rat ;  but  it  finally  eluded 
me,  and  I  was  not  able  to  add  it  to  our  already  large  collection. 
Even  at  these  heights  I  found  both  yellow  and  white  saxifrages 
and  a  blue  gentian.  From  the  top  of  this  ridge  I  had  been 
able  to  see  Kanchenjunga  and  Jannu,  though  nearly  100 
miles  away,  but  their  summits  stood  up  out  of  the  great  sea 
of  clouds  which  covered  Nepal. 

On  returning  to  camp  in  the  afternoon,  I  found  that 
MaUory  and  Bullock  were  there.  They  had  climbed  a  snow 
peak  on  the  North  side  of  the  Kama  VaUey,  about  21,500 
feet,  and  from  this  view  point  had  been  unable  to  discover 
a  possible  route  up  Mount  Everest  on  the  Eastern  face  ; 
they  thought,  however,  that  there  might  be  an  alternative 
approach  from  the  next  valley  to  the  North.  They  therefore 
intended  returning  to  the  Kharta  Valley  to  follow  that  river 
to  its  source. 

Next  morning  was  cloudy,  and  neither  Everest  nor  Makalu 
were  to  be  seen  ;  but  towards  the  East  the  view  was  clear, 
though  the  mountains  appeared  to  be  much  too  close.  We 
started  all  together  down  the  valley.  On  the  way  I  cHmbed 
1,000  feet  up  among  the  rocks  opposite  to  the  big 
glacier  that  descends  from  Chomolonzo.  I  failed,  however, 
to  get  the  good  view  of  Makalu  which  I  had  been  hoping 
for,  owing  to  the  clouds,  and  returned  to  my  old  camping 
ground  at  Tangsham,  Mallory  and  BuUock  branching  off 
from  here  towards  the  Langma  La.    The  shepherds  had  told 


118     THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

us  that  there  was  another  pass  into  the  Kharta  Valley  called 
the  Shao  La,  rather  more  to  the  South.  I  therefore  intended 
to  make  use  of  this  pass  on  the  return  journey  to  Kharta. 
As  usual,  in  the  evening,  the  clouds  came  up  and  enveloped 
us  in  a  thick  mist.  Every  night  this  happened  in  the  Kama 
Valley,  and  was  evidently  due  to  the  excessive  moisture  of 
the  air.  When  we  started  the  following  morning,  there  was 
still  a  thick  Scotch  mist  which  made  the  vegetation  very 
wet.  We  descended  the  Kama  Valley,  most  of  the  time 
keeping  high  up  above  the  river.  On  the  opposite  side  of 
the  vaUey  were  immense  black  cliffs  descending  sheer  for 
many  thousand  feet.  On  the  way  we  passed  through  acres 
of  blue  iris,  mostly  over  now,  and  then  through  a  very 
luxuriant  vegetation  which  grew  more  and  more  varied 
as  we  descended  lower.  There  was  a  lovely  emerald-green 
lake  beside  the  path,  and  like  white  sentinels  on  the  hillsides 
grew  the  great  rhubarb  of  Sikkim,  the  Rheum  nohile.  This 
was  a  most  conspicuous  plant  with  columns  of  the  palest 
green  leaves  sheathing  the  flower  spikes  which  grew  fully 
5  feet  in  height.  There  were  several  other  varieties  of  rhubarb 
here,  but  none  were  as  handsome  as  this.  At  one  place  we 
descended  as  low  as  13,000  feet  and  came  once  more  amongst 
dense  forests  of  juniper,  silver  firs  (Abies  Wehbiana),  mountain 
ash,  willow,  birch  and  taU  rhododendrons.  From  every 
tree  hung  long  grey  lichens  attesting  the  moisture  of  the 
climate.  Wherever  there  was  an  open  space  in  the  forest, 
it  was  carpeted  with  flowers.  Two  delightful  varieties 
of  primula  were  new  to  me,  and  were  just  coming  out,  one 
of  them  being  almost  black  in  colour.  The  big  deep  red 
meconopsis  grew  here,  too,  in  great  luxuriance.  Gentians 
of  all  kinds  abounded  and  many  other  varieties  of  flowers 
and  ferns,  due  to  the  fact  that  Makalu  seems  to  attract 
all  the  storms,  causing  the  moist  Monsoon  currents  to  be 
drawn  into  this  valley.  As  the  day  went  on,  the  weather 
improved  ;  the  sun  came  out,  and  the  clouds  melted  away, 
disclosing  the  magnificent  peaks  of  Makalu.  A  big  glacier 
descended  from  the  East  face  from  a  side  valley  into  the 


Tup:  Kama  \'ai.i.kv. 


THE   KAMA   VALLEY  119 

floor  of  the  valley  below  us  at  a  height  of  about  12,000  feet. 
It  was  very  curious  to  see  fir  trees,  birch  and  juniper,  and 
a  very  luxuriant  vegetation  growing  on  either  side  of  the 
ice  and  on  the  moraines  beside  it. 

Below  this  glacier  the  valley  became  quite  flat  with 
grassy  meadows  and  patches  of  forest  dotted  about  the 
pastures — a  very  unusual  type  of  valley  for  the  Himalayas. 
Almost  opposite  to  this  glacier  we  turned  into  a  side  valley  ; 
the  path  and  the  stream  that  came  down  this  valley  were 
often  indistinguishable.  All  round  the  valley  were  great 
black  cliffs  ;  in  one  place  where  they  were  less  precipitous 
the  path  found  its  way  upwards.  Our  camp  was  pitched 
that  night  on  a  shelf  above  the  cliffs  where  for  a  short  time 
we  had  some  very  wonderful  views.  This  place  was  called 
in  Tibetan  "  The  Field  of  Marigolds,"  though  at  the  time 
we  were  there  they  were  all  over.  We  were  at  a  height  of 
15,300  feet,  and  Makalu's  two  peaks  were  almost  exactly 
opposite  to  us.  The  cloud  effects  were  very  striking ;  the 
storms  seemed  to  gather  round  Makalu,  and  first  one  peak 
and  then  the  other  would  appear  out  of  the  great  white 
cumulus  clouds  whose  shapes  changed  every  minute.  As 
usual,  the  mists  came  up  in  the  evening,  and  we  were  enveloped 
in  a  very  wet  Scotch  mist  with  a  temperature  of  46°  Fahr. 
Next  morning,  instead  of  getting  the  lovely  view  that  we  had 
expected,  a  thick  Scotch  mist  prevented  our  seeing  more 
than  20  yards  away.  We  crawled  up  to  the  top  of  the 
Shao  La,  16,500  feet,  in  driving  rain,  but  after  crossing  over 
it  we  emerged  into  finer  weather.  On  the  descent  we  passed 
several  fine  lakes,  on  the  cliffs  above  which  were  numerous 
ram  chakor  (Himalayan  snowcock).  I  pursued  a  covey  of 
these,  and  after  a  chase  managed  to  shoot  one.  They  are 
very  fine  birds,  weighing  between  5  and  6  lb.  ;  they  are 
extremely  noisy  and  fond  of  their  own  voices.  The  parent 
birds  are  always  very  loth  to  leave  theii'  young,  and  early 
in  the  summer  it  is  possible  to  approach  very  close  to  them  ; 
but  later  on  in  the  year,  when  the  young  have  become  nearly 
full  grown,  they  are  very  wily,  and  having  excellent  eyesight, 


120     THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

do  not  allow  anyone  to  approach  within  a  couple  of  hundred 
yards.  That  afternoon  I  arrived  back  at  Kharta,  where 
the  weather  had  been  quite  fine,  and  where  there  had  been 
but  httle  rain  during  my  absence. 

Dui*ing  that  night  a  thief  broke  into  our  store-room, 
forcing  and  breakmg  the  lock  outside.  The  only  thing  he 
took,  as  far  as  we  could  find  out,  was  one  of  Wheeler's 
yak-dans  (a  leather  mule  trunk).  The  thief  had  probably 
mistaken  this  one  for  one  of  mine,  which  contained  a 
considerable  amount  of  money,  and  knowmg  that  I  was 
away,  he  thought  that  my  kit  must  be  packed  away  in  the 
store-room.  We  informed  the  Jongpen  and  the  head- 
men of  the  villages  around  of  the  theft,  and  had  a  couple  of 
suspicious  characters  watched ;  but  we  never  found  any 
trace  of  the  stolen  articles,  which  luckily  were  of  very  small 
value.     For  the  next  fortnight  I  remained  at  Kharta. 

On  August  19  Heron  suddenly  arrived  back  after  a 
very  interesting  trip,  during  which  he  had  explored  all 
the  mountains  North  of  Tingri  and  Shekar  Dzong  up  to  the 
Brahmaputra  watershed.  He  had  had  very  bad  weather 
all  the  time.  Every  night  there  had  been  heavy  thunder- 
storms and  practically  all  the  bad  weather  had  come  from 
the  North.  The  whole  country  was  under  water,  and  it 
was  very  difficult  to  get  about.  Some  of  the  rivers  that 
we  had  crossed  earlier  in  the  season  were  now  a  mile  or  more 
wide. 

On  the  following  day  Bullock  and  Mallory  returned  to 
Kharta  after  having  explored  the  Upper  Kharta  Valley. 
They  thought  that  they  had  found  a  possible  way  up  Mount 
Everest  from  this  valley,  but  at  present  the  weather  was  too 
bad  for  them  to  carry  on  with  their  reconnaissance,  and  they 
had  come  down  for  a  fortnight's  rest,  hoping  that  the  Monsoon 
would  be  over  by  the  beginning  of  September  and  that  they 
would  then  be  able  to  make  a  proper  attack  on  the  mountain. 
As  Mallory  and  Bullock  were  likely  to  be  at  Kharta  for 
some  time,  Wollaston  and  I  seized  this  opportunity  to  visit 
the  lower  valley  of  the  Kama-chu. 


THE   KAMA  VALLEY  121 

Therefore,  on  August  23,  with  eleven  of  our  own  coolies 
and  several  Tibetan  coolies,  we  climbed  the  Samchung 
Pass  (15,000  feet),  and  then  descended  into  the  valley  of 
the  fourteen  lakes,  and  after  crossing  the  Chog  La  camped 
on  the  far  side  of  the  pass  near  a  dark  green  and  sacred 
lake  called  Ruddamlamtso.  On  the  way  we  saw  a  new  species 
of  black  rat  in  the  moraine  of  a  glacier  ;  but  Wollaston's 
servant,  who  had  the  collecting  gun  with  him,  was  unfortu- 
nately far  behind  ;  he  was  always  rather  fond  of  drink  and 
loth  to  leave  the  villages.  The  weather  was  cloudy,  and 
there  were  no  views  from  the  top  of  either  pass.  The  march 
was  a  strenuous  one,  taking  the  coolies  thirteen  hours  to 
cover  the  whole  distance,  and  they  did  not  arrive  till  after 
dark.  The  Ruddamlamtso,  the  lake  by  which  we  were 
camped,  had  wonderfully  clear  water ;  I  could  see  every 
stone  at  a  depth  of  20  feet,  and  it  was  evidently  very  deep. 
It  is  looked  upon  as  a  sacred  lake,  and  to  it  people  make 
yearly  pilgrimages,  walking  round  it  burning  mcense  and 
throwing  spices  into  its  waters. 

The  following  morning  the  clouds  were  low  down  every- 
where on  the  hillsides  and  we  had  no  views.  There  was 
a  steep  descent  for  4  miles  to  Sakeding — 12,100  feet,  through 
the  most  interesting  zones  of  vegetation.  We  followed 
the  edge  of  the  rushing  stream,  always  white  from  the  rapidity 
of  its  descent.  On  one  side  of  the  vaUey  grew  rhododendrons 
of  many  varieties  and  mountain  ash,  and  on  the  other  were 
hoary  old  junipers  with  twisted  stems.  Grey  lichens  hung 
down  from  every  branch,  and  were  often  5  or  6  feet  in  length. 
We  came  across  some  of  the  finest  and  largest  red  currants 
that  we  had  yet  seen.  Of  these  we  collected  a  great  quantity, 
and  they  formed  a  very  excellent  stew.  Birches,  wild  roses 
and  berberis  were  the  commonest  shrubs,  while  nearly  every 
rock  was  covered  with  an  extremely  pretty  rose-coloured 
creeper,  which  in  places  caused  the  hillsides  to  look  quite 
pink.  Earlier  in  the  year  the  iris  must  have  been  a  very 
beautiful  sight,  as  we  passed  through  acres  of  their  leaves. 
A   big  yellow   rock-rose   with  flowers   2   inches   across   was 


122     THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

also  to  be  met  with  here,  and  many  of  the  lower  leaves  of 
the  rhododendrons  were  turning  yellow  to  scarlet,  making 
a  great  show  of  colour  on  the  dark  green  of  the  hillside. 
Deep  purple-coloured  primulas  and  monkshood,  as  well 
as  a  curious  hairy  mauve-red  monkshood  with  a  very 
graceful  growth,  were  also  to  be  seen.  The  pretty  white- 
crested  red-start  flitted  about  from  rock  to  rock,  and  numerous 
tits  of  various  kinds  flew  about  in  flocks  from  tree  to  tree 
as  we  descended. 

Sakeding  (Pleasant  terrace)  had  been  at  one  time  a 
village  of  considerable  size,  but  a  pestilence  sent  by  the 
local  demon  had  wiped  out  all  its  inhabitants.  This  demon 
was  still  reputed  to  be  very  active,  and  no  one  had  dared 
to  re-build  the  old  houses  of  which  the  ruins,  overgrown 
with  weeds  and  bushes,  could  be  seen  here  and  there.  It 
was  a  very  pleasant  site  for  a  village,  situated  as  it  was 
on  a  terrace  that  projected  out  into  the  vaUey  1,000 
feet  above  the  stream  below.  During  the  summer  months 
there  is  quite  a  trade  passing  through  this  place,  the  Tibetans 
bringing  salt  from  the  North,  and  the  Nepalese  coming  up 
from  Nepal  with  rice,  dyes  and  vegetables,  which  they 
exchange.  The  rate  of  barter  at  this  time  was  two  measures 
of  rice  or  three  measures  of  madder  dye  for  one  measure 
of  salt,  and  no  money  changes  hands.  Everything  that 
was  brought  here  was  brought  on  the  backs  of  cooUes,  and 
these  Nepalese  coolies  were  sturdy,  cheery  fellows,  and  thought 
nothing  of  carrying  80  lb.  of  salt  on  their  backs  up  and  down 
the  execrable  paths  of  the  district. 

From  Sakeding  we  descended  steeply  through  a  forest 
of  the  finest  juniper  trees  that  I  had  yet  seen.  These  grew 
80  to  90  feet  high,  and  many  of  their  trunks  were  18  feet 
to  20  feet  in  circumference.  As  a  rule  they  had  clean  stems, 
without  a  branch  for  50  feet  or  60  feet.  The  branches 
were  all  hung  with  grey  lichens.  We  now  descended  beside 
the  muddy  and  tempestuous  waters  of  the  Kama-chu.  The 
juniper  forest  gradually  gave  way  to  silver  firs — wonderful 
trees  of  enormous  size  and  great  age.     We  passed  through 


THE   KAMA   VALLEY  123 

many  open  glades,  park-like  in  appearance,  with  grand 
clumps  of  fir  trees  or  sycamore  dotted  here  and  there.  The 
hillsides  were  absolutely  running  over  with  water,  and 
often  for  several  hundred  yards  we  walked  along  logs  put 
down  to  try  and  avoid  the  mud  and  the  running  water. 
As  many  of  these  rounded  logs  were  very  sUppery,  both  we 
and  our  coolies  had  to  proceed  with  caution,  and  even  so 
we  experienced  many  a  fall.  At  Chu-tronu — 10,200  feet — 
there  was  a  well-made  wooden  bridge,  60  feet  long,  which 
spanned  the  river  where  it  flowed  in  a  narrow  channel  between 
two  great  rocks.  We  crossed  this  bridge,  and  finding  a 
broad  open  space  there,  I  selected  a  spot  suitable  for  our 
camp  and  ordered  the  coolies  to  cut  down  some  of  the  grass 
where  we  intended  to  pitch  the  tents.  I  could  not  at  first 
make  out  why  they  kept  jumping  about  when  thus  engaged, 
but  on  going  to  investigate,  I  found  that  the  place  was 
ahve  with  leeches  ;  however,  as  there  was  no  other  better 
place  in  which  to  camp,  we  had  to  make  the  best  of  it.  The 
men  collected  some  dry  bamboos  out  of  an  old  shepherd's 
hut  which  was  close  by ;  these  they  burnt  on  the  sites  where 
we  were  to  pitch  our  tents,  hoping  by  this  means  to  drive 
away  the  leeches.  This  method,  however,  was  not  very 
successful,  for  all  that  evening  we  were  busy  picking  leeches 
off  our  clothes,  legs,  hands  or  heads.  They  climbed  up 
the  sides  of  the  tents  and  dropped  down  into  our  food,  our 
cups  and  on  to  our  plates.  Wollaston  invented  the  best 
way  of  killing  them,  which  was  by  cutting  them  in  two 
with  a  pair  of  scissors.  Our  interpreter  remonstrated  with 
him,  as  he  said  this  method  increased  the  number  of  leeches, 
thinking  that  both  ends  of  them  would  grow.  After  a  some- 
what restless  and  disturbed  night,  due  to  these  leeches, 
we  started  off  next  morning  to  go  down  to  the  junction 
of  the  Kama  River  with  the  Arun.  The  distance  as  the  crow 
flies  was  only  about  6  miles,  but  we  did  not  realise  the  kind 
of  path  that  we  should  have  to  traverse.  In  that  short 
distance  we  must  have  risen  and  fallen  quite  5,000  feet. 
The  path  was  never  level  and  always  very  rough  and  stony. 


124     THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

At  first  it  led  through  beautiful  glades  running  with  moisture 
and  over  logs  buried,  most  of  them,  inches  deep  in  the  water  ; 
they  were,  however,  better  to  walk  on  than  the  soft  mud 
there  was  on  either  side.  The  silver  firs  were  now  at  their 
best — trees  over  100  feet  in  height,  and  with  stems  20  feet 
to  25  feet  in  cii'cumference.  Here  grew  great  hydrangeas 
20  feet  or  more  in  height  covered  with  flowers.  Our  only 
halts  on  the  way  down,  and  they  were  pretty  frequent, 
were  to  pick  ofi  the  leeches  from  our  clothes.  We  took 
them  ofi  by  tens  at  a  time ;  they  were  very  hungry,  and 
varied  in  size  from  great  striped  horse-leeches  to  tiny  ones 
as  thin  as  a  pin  and  able  to  penetrate  anj^where.  The  track 
now  left  the  upper  terraces  and  descended  very  steeply 
towards  the  river,  at  times  climbing  sharply  upwards  again 
to  avoid  precipitous  rocks  and  cUffs.  During  the  descent, 
we  gradually  passed  from  the  zone  of  the  silver  firs  into 
that  of  the  spruce,  meeting  the  lovely  Picea  Brunoniana,  which 
grew  to  an  even  greater  size  than  the  silver  firs.  Many  of  the 
trees  were  over  150  feet  in  height  and  without  a  branch  for  70 
feet  or  80  feet ;  their  stems  too,  were  often  25  feet  to  30  feet  in 
circumference.  This  valley  is  so  inaccessible  that  I  am  glad 
to  thmk  that  these  glorious  forests  can  never  be  exploited 
commercially.  After  passing  a  great  overhanging  rock 
called  Korabak,  which  is  evidently  much  used  as  a  halting- 
place,  we  descended  steeply  to  the  river,  which  now  forms  a 
series  of  cascades,  leaping  from  rock  to  rock,  a  very  remarkable 
spectacle.  During  the  last  6  miles  of  its  course,  this  river — 
the  product  of  four  large  glacier  streams — descends  at  the 
rate  of  450  feet  every  mile.  In  places  there  were  waterfalls 
of  20  feet  and  more,  where  the  river  hurled  itself  into  seething 
cauldrons  ;  in  one  place  I  saw  it  confined  to  a  breadth  of 
barely  5  feet.  The  junction  of  this  river  with  the  Arun  is 
only  7,500  feet  above  the  sea ;  just  above  the  junction 
is  a  bridge  which  leads  to  the  village  of  Kimonanga,  a 
picturesque  village  situated  on  a  terrace  some  700  feet 
above  the  river  and  surrounded  by  some  fine  trees.  In  this 
valley  we  came  across  a  few  blue  pines  (Pinus  excelsa)  and 


THE  KAMA  VALLEY  125 

also  a  large-leafed  alder  ;  near  its  junction  with  the  Arun 
were  many  trees  and  orchids  of  a  semi-tropical  character. 
On  the  opposite  side  of  the  valley  is  a  forest  of  evergreen 
oak  trees,  but  as  I  was  unable  to  cross  the  river  I  could 
not  say  to  what  species  they  belonged.  On  the  way  we 
passed  many  yellow  raspberries  on  which  we  slaked  our 
thirst.  Our  guide  also  dug  up  some  of  the  roots  of  the  wild 
arum  to  show  us  ;  it  is  a  great  flattish  tuberous  root,  rather 
oval  in  shape.  This  the  inhabitants  dig  up  and,  after  allowing 
it  to  ferment  by  burying  it  in  a  hole  for  several  days,  pound 
it  up,  and  then  eat  it ;  it  was  much  esteemed  by  the  villagers. 
It  is  necessary  to  ferment  it  first,  as  otherwise  the  root  is 
extremely  poisonous.  We  tasted  a  slice  of  bread  made  out 
of  this  root,  and  I  have  seldom  tasted  anything  nastier. 
It  is  supposed,  if  not  properly  fermented,  to  cause  aU  the 
hair  to  fall  out  of  the  head ;  but  I  should  be  inclined  to 
imagine  that  it  would  do  this  even  if  it  were  properly 
fermented.  Near  the  junction  of  the  Kama  and  Arun  Rivers, 
we  climbed  up  on  to  a  terrace  1,200  feet  above,  on  which 
was  situated  the  village  of  Lungdo.  The  great  Arun  gorges 
here  become  a  considerable  valley ;  for  20  miles  above  this 
point  up  to  Kharta  the  Arun  runs  through  a  narrow  and 
practically  impassable  gorge,  but  here  the  valley  widens 
out  for  a  few  miles  and  contains  several  villages  ;  a  short 
distance  below  it  enters  again  into  another  great  gorge. 
The  river  now  was  in  full  flood  and  covered  the  whole  of 
the  bottom  of  the  valley,  being  in  places  many  hundred 
yards  in  width.  At  one  spot,  where  it  contracted,  there 
was  a  well-made  bridge  leading  to  the  village  of  Matsang. 
I  was  astonished  to  meet  with  maize  growing  at  this  height — 
8,700  feet.  The  villagers  also  grew  cucumbers,  pumpkins 
and  several  kinds  of  millet,  including  an  extremely  pretty  red 
one.  The  head-man  of  Lungdo  gave  me  some  millet  beer, 
which  was  very  refreshing  after  the  long  march.  Wollaston 
did  not  care  for  it,  but  between  us  we  managed  to  eat  three 
large  and  juicy  cucumbers.  The  head-man  was  very  friendly  ; 
and  a  local  official  was  staying  here  who  had  just  come 


126     THE   NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

from  Kharta,  who  recognised  us,  and  presented  us  with 
some  excellent  honey  cakes.  We  neither  of  us  looked  forward 
to  the  upliiU  return  journey,  but  after  five  and  a  half  hours' 
hard  walking  I  reached  camp  just  before  dark.  Wollaston 
did  not  arrive  tiU  later,  and  I  had  to  send  a  coolie  with  a 
lamp  to  bring  him  in.  We  were  both  of  us  much  exhausted, 
as  the  day  had  been  a  long  and  trying  one.  That  night 
we  had  a  grand  camp  fire  of  rhododendron  and  fir  logs. 
Hundreds  of  moths  insisted  on  flying  into  the  fire  instead  of 
entering  the  tent  where  Wollaston  was  ready  with  his  cyanide 
bottle  to  catch  them. 

The  following  morning  the  weather  was  dull  and  cloudy, 
and  did  not  look  very  promising.  We  determined,  however, 
to  visit  the  Popti  La,  the  pass  between  Tibet  and  Nepal, 
over  which  all  the  local  traffic  passes.  Leaving  the  camp, 
we  entered  a  small  side  valley  to  the  South,  the  path  climbing 
steeply  upwards  under  big  rhododendrons  {R.  Falconeri 
and  R.  Argenteum)  with  leaves  18  inches  long.  Noticing 
many  of  their  leaves  strewn  on  the  path,  I  inquired  the 
reason  for  this.  Our  guide  informed  us  that  the  carriers 
fastened  these  leaves  together  with  thin  strips  of  bamboo 
and  thus  provided  an  excellent  waterproof  cover  for  them- 
selves and  for  their  loads.  After  climbing  about  a  mile, 
we  saw  some  bamboo  huts  in  the  forest  and  a  number  of 
cows  were  grazing  round  them.  These  belonged  to  some 
Nepalese  herds  who  come  over  here  in  the  summer,  bringing 
their  cattle  to  graze.  The  path  now  followed  the  side  of  a 
rushing  torrent,  peaty  brown  in  colour,  which  came  hurrying 
down  under  the  shade  of  birch,  sycamore,  silver  firs,  juniper 
and  rhododendi^ons.  As  we  ascended  higher,  the  open  spaces 
became  more  frequent,  though  the  grass  and  weeds  grew 
fully  3  feet  in  height,  attesting  the  constant  rainfall  of  this 
district.  On  leaving  the  path  to  collect  a  few  seeds  from 
some  plants  growing  a  short  distance  away  from  it,  I  found 
myself  in  a  few  moments  covered  with  leeches  which  appar- 
ently thrive  here  at  an  altitude  of  over  12,000  feet ;  this  must 
be  almost  a  record  height  for  these  pests.     The  path  climbed 


THE   KAMA   VALLEY  127 

up  steeply,  tlie  rhododendrons  growing  gradually  smaller 
in  size  as  we  ascended.  After  going  for  four  hours,  we  reached 
the  top  of  the  pass— 14,000  feet.  Here  on  the  top  was  a 
stone  half  hidden  in  a  pile  of  rocks  with  a  notice,  written 
in  Chinese  characters,  that  this  was  the  boundary  between 
Tibet  and  Nepal.  Across  the  top  of  the  pass  was  a  long 
wall,  mostly  overgrown  with  grass,  evidently  at  one  time 
considered  to  be  some  kind  of  defence.  Owing  to  the  clouds 
being  very  low,  we  unfortunately  had  no  view  from  the 
top,  but  just  below  us,  on  the  Nepalese  side,  was  a  fine 
black  lake,  about  half  a  mile  long,  with  an  island  in  the  centre, 
which  the  Nepalese  called  Dungepokri.  On  the  top  were 
many  interesting  Alpine  flowers,  amongst  them  a  charming 
white  potentiUa  with  a  red  centre ;  and  a  large  cream-coloured 
primula,  shading  into  deep  orange.  We  also  came  across 
several  new  varieties  of  gentians.  Here  we  rested  for  a 
couple  of  hours,  hoping  that  the  clouds  might  lift,  but  a 
nasty  rain  began  to  fall  heavily.  While  we  were  waiting 
several  coolies  from  Nepal  passed  by  :  from  these  we  found 
out  that  the  pass  was  closed  by  snow  for  five  months  in 
the  year  and  that  the  trade  market  at  Sakeding  was  closed 
by  the  end  of  October.  We  now  turned  our  footsteps  home- 
ward, urged  on  by  cold  showers  of  rain.  On  the  descent 
we  were  able  to  collect  a  few  seeds.  Autumn  was  approaching, 
though  the  trees  had  not  yet  begun  to  assume  their  autumn 
colours  owing  to  the  warm  nights.  That  evening  in  the 
camp  we  had  an  enormous  bonfire  of  birch,  juniper  and 
rhododendrons,  which  made  the  prettiest  blaze  imaginable, 
with  flames  of  green,  blue,  violet  and  orange.  The  large 
fire  also  helped  to  keep  away  the  leeches.  Heavy  rain  fell 
again  all  night,  and  the  thermometer  did  not  descend  below 
55°  Fahr.  The  morning,  however,  broke  fine,  and  we  started 
back  again  up  the  vaUey  to  Sakeding.  The  sun  shone  every 
now  and  then,  giving  us  occasional  glimpses  of  distant  glaciers 
at  the  head  of  the  valley.  The  walk  through  the  forest, 
with  the  sunlight  shining  on  the  dark  green  leaves  of  the 
rhododendron  and  the  dripping  foliage,  was  very  dehghtful. 


128     THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

The  undergrowth  consisted  of  wild  roses,  berberis  with  its 
necklaces  of  scarlet  berries,  wild  currants  of  a  great  size — 
sour  to  the  taste,  but  excellent  when  stewed — ^wild  raspberries, 
Ught  feathery  bamboos,  birch,  willow  and  a  most  luxuriant 
vegetation  of  flowers  and  grasses.  In  one  or  two  places 
the  mountain  ash  were  just  beginning  to  show  traces  of 
colour.  We  soon  left  the  leeches  behind  us  and  followed 
our  old  track  through  the  forest  beside  the  rushing  waters 
of  the  Kama-chu.  Enormous  rocks  which  had  faUen  from 
above  had  in  places  almost  blocked  up  the  river.  Often 
on  these  great  boulders  in  the  middle  of  the  stream  were 
growing  the  graceful  Himalayan  larch.  On  the  steepest 
rock  faces  grew  vegetation  of  every  kind,  thanks  to  the 
excessive  moisture  of  the  climate,  and  from  every  tree  and 
from  every  bush  hung  long  and  picturesque  lichens.  Crested 
tits  and  bullfinches  lived  in  great  numbers  in  this  forest 
and  gave  it  quite  a  homehke  appearance.  The  climb  from 
the  river  had  been  a  steep  one,  and  we  pitched  our  camp 
at  Sakeding  in  a  downpour  of  rain,  but  towards  the  evening 
the  weather  cleared  up,  allowing  us  fine  views  of  great  snow 
peaks  which  showed  above  the  mists  on  the  opposite  sides 
of  the  valley.  It  was  too  far  to  go  from  Sakeding  to  Kharta 
in  one  day  ;  we  therefore  decided  to  camp  before  crossing 
the  Chog  La.  We  passed  our  old  camp  by  the  green  lake 
Ruddamlamtso,  and  I  had  a  long  chase  after  some  ram  chakor, 
but  they  were  too  clever  for  me  and  ran  up  the  hill  faster 
than  I  could  follow  them.  The  large  moraines  which  con- 
verged in  this  valley  were  specially  interesting,  and  threw 
much  light  on  its  past  history.  Each  moraine  had  its  own 
long  line  of  boulders  formed  of  different  lands  of  rock, 
according  to  the  character  of  the  mountains  from  which  they 
had  been  carried  down  by  the  ice.  It  was  not  difficult  to 
imagine  the  vast  glaciers  by  which  these  lines  of  boulders 
had  been  deposited  ;  glaciers  which  must  at  one  time  have 
completely  blocked  the  valley  and  the  disappearance  of 
which  has  made  room  for  the  chain  of  lakes  which  now 
occupy  the  vaUey.     We  pitched  our  camp  at  a  place  called 


THE   KAMA   VALLEY  129 

Mendalongkyo — 15,500  feet — in  a  pleasantly  sheltered  spot 
where  a  gurgling  stream  disappeared  under  an  old  moraine. 
In  the  afternoon  Wollaston  went  out  after  rats,  of  which 
he  secured  a  new  variety.  Our  coolies  had  a  great  chase 
after  a  fat  marmot,  which  they  very  nearly  caught,  but  he 
got  down  into  his  hole  just  in  time.  Around  the  camp 
were  quantities  of  a  very  beautiful  pale  blue  gentian — a 
regular  Eton  blue  colour.  Wandering  up  the  spur  North- 
west of  the  camp  I  counted  nine  lakes  in  the  next  valley 
and  four  lakes  in  the  one  that  we  were  in  ;  as  the  rain 
began  to  fall  again,  I  returned  to  camp. 

The  next  morning,  August  29,  we  began  our  homeward 
journey  to  Kharta.  Getting  up  early,  we  climbed  on  to 
the  high  ridge  North-west  of  the  camp,  from  which  we  had 
a  fair  view ;  but  unfortunately  both  Makalu  and  Mount 
Everest  were  hidden  by  clouds.  We  waited  for  a  long  time 
in  hopes  of  a  better  view,  but  the  clouds  only  grew  thicker. 
We  therefore  followed  the  ridge  above  the  Chog  La.  On 
the  way  I  shot  a  Tibetan  snow  partridge  {Lerwa  nivicola), 
an  extremely  pretty  bird  with  lovely  markings.  This  was 
the  first  I  had  seen. 

We  now  turned  our  backs  upon  the  Kama  Valley  with 
much  regret.  We  had  explored  many  of  these  Himalayan 
valleys,  but  none  seemed  to  me  to  be  comparable  with  this, 
either  for  the  beauty  of  its  Alpine  scenery,  or  for  its  wonderful 
vegetation.  We  shall  not  easily  forget  the  smiUng  pastures 
carpeted  with  gentians  and  every  variety  of  Alpine  flower 
that  rise  to  the  very  verge  of  icebound  and  snow-covered 
tracks,  where  mighty  glaciers  descend  among  the  forests 
which  clothe  the  lower  slopes. 

After  crossing  the  Chog  La,  we  went  down  once  more  into 
the  valley  of  the  lakes  and  then,  crossing  the  Samchung  La, 
descended  to  Kharta  which  we  found  bathed  in  sunshine. 


M.E 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  UPPER  KHARTA  VALLEY  AND  THE 
20,000  FOOT   CAMP 

During  the  early  part  of  August  Mallory  and  Bullock, 
after  they  had  found  that  there  was  no  possible  means  of 
attacking  Mount  Everest  from  the  Kama  Valley,  crossed 
the  Langma  La  and  returned  to  the  Kharta  VaUey.  Up 
this  valley  they  now  proceeded  until  they  reached  the  glaciers 
in  which  the  Kharta  River  has  its  source.  After  exploring 
a  number  of  valleys,  they  at  last  found  one  which  led  straight 
to  Mount  Everest.  Accompanied  by  Major  Morshead,  who 
had  joined  them  during  their  excursion,  they  made  a  long  and 
tiring  reconnaissance  of  this  valley,  and  satisfied  themselves 
that  it  afforded  a  practicable  approach  to  the  North-eastern 
ridge  of  Mount  Everest.  The  slopes  were  fairly  gentle,  but 
were  at  that  time  covered  with  soft  fresh  snow,  laiee  deep. 
Over  these  snow-covered  glaciers,  up  which  they  had 
proceeded  with  great  difficulty,  they  found  a  col  from  which 
it  was  possible  to  attack  the  mountain.  Under  the  existing 
conditions  of  soft  snow  and  warm  weather  it  would  have 
been  quite  impossible  to  take  laden  coolies  along  this  route, 
and  they  therefore  returned  to  Kharta  to  wait  until  the 
monsoon  conditions  had  abated  and  the  snow  should  have 
become  hard  and  frozen. 

On  our  return  from  the  Kama  Valley  on  August  29,  we 
found  Mallory  and  Bullock  still  at  Kharta,  waiting  for  the 
weather  to  improve.  About  this  time  it  was  showing  distinct 
signs  of  improvement.  The  clouds  were  not  so  thick  and 
there  were  many  more  bright  intervals  with  blue  skies. 
They  therefore  determined  to  start  off  on  August  31,  to 
form  an  advanced  base  camp  up  the  Kharta  Valley. 

130 


THE  UPPER  KHARTA  VALLEY  131 

On  September  1,  much  to  the  surprise  of  every  one, 
Raeburn  arrived  back  from  DarjeeHng.  He  reported  very 
wet  conditions  throughout  Tibet,  the  rivers  everywhere 
being  unfordable,  and  most  of  the  bridges  washed  away. 
He  also  reported  having  seen  five  bags  of  our  mails  at  Chushar. 
Our  posts  had  latterly  been  very  erratic,  and  for  five  weeks 
no  mails  had  arrived.  We  did  not  know  what  had  happened 
to  them.  We  were  sending  in  a  couple  of  our  own  coolies 
every  fortnight  to  Phari  with  our  outgoing  mail,  and  the 
first  lot  of  these  coolies  had  not  yet  returned,  so  that  we 
were  all  without  news  of  the  outside  world.  Although  it 
was  the  beginning  of  September,  the  night  temperatures  at 
Kharta  were  still  much  too  high,  ranging  from  52°  Fahr.  to 
47°  Fahr.  On  September  3  Morshead  and  Wheeler  left  for 
the  Upper  Kharta  Valley,  intending  to  go  slowly  and  to 
map  and  fill  in  the  detail  of  the  valley  as  they  went  along. 

The  tamencss  of  the  birds  gave  us  many  opportunities 
of  studying  their  habits.  A  large  family  of  redstarts  lived 
in  our  garden  at  Kharta,  and  used  to  amuse  me  very  much. 
The  young  birds  were  now  fully  fledged  and  spent  most  of 
the  day  in  hopping  in  and  out  of  my  tent ;  they  were  not  in 
the  least  degree  afraid,  and  the  mother  would  come  and  feed 
them  actually  inside  my  tent.  On  the  terrace  near  the 
camp  there  were  a  number  of  prettily  marked  white  rock 
pigeons  which  formed  a  welcome  addition  to  our  diet  of 
Tibetan  mutton,  of  which  we  were  getting  very  tired. 

On  September  5  Wollaston,  Raeburn  and  I,  with  twenty- 
six  Tibetan  coolies,  and  eleven  of  our  own,  started  off  to 
join  the  climbing  party  up  the  Kharta  Valley.  The  fu'st 
7  miles  of  this  valley  I  knew  well,  having  traversed  them 
many  times  before.  The  barley  fields  were  now  fast  ripening, 
and  were  a  beautiful  golden  colour.  Curious  to  relate,  the 
barley  that  grew  at  14,000  feet  was  riper  than  that  which 
grew  at  12,000  feet.  Two  kinds  of  barley  seemed  to  be 
grown  here — the  ordinary  variety,  and  another  wdth  a  red 
ear  such  as  is,  I  believe,  grown  in  the  Shetlands.  We  rode 
past  the  tidy-looking  monastery  of  Gandenchofel,  surrounded 


132     THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE  EXPEDITION 

by  its  juniper  trees,  and  after  a  steep  climb  past  the  entrance 
of  the  valley  leading  to  the  Langma  La,  descended  on  to 
some  fine  river  terraces,  on  which  were  many  prosperous 
farms  and  well-tiUed  fields.  These  extended  for  several 
more  miles  up  the  vaUey.  We  pitched  our  camp  on  a  grassy 
flat  a  couple  of  miles  above  the  last  house,  where  willows, 
rhododendrons  and  junipers  grew  plentifully  ;  the  marshy 
ground  was  carpeted  with  gentians,  one  of  the  commonest 
being  dark  blue  in  colour  with  ten  petals,  and  rather  like  a 
star  in  shape,  the  other  being  larger  and  of  a  pale  Eton-blue 
colour.  I  managed  to  collect  a  certain  number  of  seeds  of 
both  of  these.  We  had  a  grand  bonfire  that  evening,  made 
of  juniper  and  willow,  the  last  that  we  were  to  have  for  a 
long  time.  The  weather  was  disappointing  and  a  drizzling 
rain  fell  all  night  with  a  temperature  of  42°  Fahr. 

It  was  still  raining  when  we  started  in  the  morning,  so 
that  there  were  no  views.  A  white  andromeda  was  still  in 
flower  on  the  hiUsides,  but  the  rhododendrons  were  all  over. 
On  the  opposite  side  of  the  valley  juniper  alone  flourished 
and  grew  to  an  altitude  of  nearly  17,000  feet.  After  going 
a  couple  of  miles,  we  passed  Morshead  and  Wheeler's  tents 
pitched  on  an  old  yak  camp.  When  we  arrived,  they  were 
stiU  having  breakfast,  as  the  weather  was  too  bad  to  do 
any  surveying.  On  leaving  them  we  had  a  steep  chmb 
over  grassy  slopes,  where  the  drizzling  rain  now  changed 
to  snow,  and  for  the  rest  of  the  day  it  fell  steadily.  There 
appeared  to  be  many  branch  valleys,  and  as  our  views  in 
the  mist  were  very  curtailed,  we  were  not  at  all  certain  as 
to  whether  we  were  going  up  the  right  valley — I  only  knew 
approximately  the  height  of  the  place  at  which  we  were 
to  camp.  Therefore,  on  arriving  at  that  height,  I  sent  my 
coolies  off  in  two  different  directions  up  two  different  valleys 
to  see  where  Mallory  and  Bullock's  camp  might  be.  The 
mist  lifted  for  a  moment,  and  one  of  them  luckily  saw  Mallory, 
whose  camp  was  only  a  few  hundred  yards  from  us.  We 
decided  to  call  this  our  "  Advanced  base  camp."  It  was 
pitched  in  some  small  grassy  hollows  at  a  height  of  17,350 


THE   UPPER   KHARTA   VALLEY  133 

feet.  The  site  was  well  sheltered  from  the  winds,  and  was 
a  regular  Alpine  garden.  Gentians  of  three  different  kinds 
were  growing  there,  including  the  lovely  light-blue  one. 
There  was  also  a  beautiful  little  white  saxifrage  with  yellow 
and  brown  spots  inside  the  flower,  a  delightful  pink  androsace, 
and  dwarf  delphiniums  with  their  single  deep-blue  flowers. 
Here  grew  also  the  musk-scented  hairy  light-blue  delphinium 
with  its  overpowering  smell  of  musk.  The  latter  flower, 
the  Tibetans  told  me,  was  a  great  preventative  of  lice,  and 
I  noticed  that  our  cooks  and  most  of  our  servants  had  picked 
great  bundles  of  it.  They  also  told  me  that  if  a  man  habitu- 
ally wears  this  flower  about  him  during  his  lifetime,  after 
his  death  when  cut  up  and  exposed  to  the  birds,  no  bird  or 
wolf  will  touch  his  flesh  owing  to  the  strong  scent  apparently 
left  by  the  musk.  A  pretty  pink  aster  grew  here  in  great 
clusters,  and  a  few  blue  poppies  were  still  out.  Acchu,  our 
cook,  and  Gyalzen  Kazi,  who  were  coming  along  behind  us, 
both  missed  their  way  and  wandered  several  miles  further 
up  the  valley  before  they  found  out  their  mistake,  and  when 
they  eventually  arrived  in  camp,  were  both  suffering  from 
severe  headaches,  due  to  the  great  height.  During  our 
stay  at  this  camp  we  had  plenty  of  time  and  many  oppor- 
tunities of  observing  bird  and  animal  life.  Some  of  the 
birds  were  very  brilliantly  coloured.  There  was  a  snow 
bunting  with  bright  scarlet  breast  and  head,  also  a  beautiful 
redstart  with  red  body  and  black  and  white  wings.  Overhead 
the  great  lammergeier,  or  bearded  vulture,  sailed  in  graceful 
circles,  while  the  big  black  raven  croaked  on  the  rocks  by 
the  camp.  Morning  and  evening  we  could  hear  the  ramchakor 
{Tetraogallus  tibetanus)  calling  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
valley,  and  with  glasses  we  could  see  them  chasing  one 
another  and  running  round  in  circles.  Red  foxes  I  met 
with  on  several  occasions  over  18,000  feet. 

Mallory  and  Bullock,  who  had  akeady  been  here  for  a 
few  days,  had  spent  their  time  in  carrying  wood  and  stores 
up  to  a  higher  camp  further  up  the  vaUey ;  they  had  been 
having  a  certain  amount  of  trouble  mth  their  cooUes,  due 


134     THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

to  the  Sii'dar,  who  was  always  trying  to  create  difficulties. 
I  therefore  sent  him  away  on  a  job  to  Chushar  to  collect 
some  of  our  stores  which  were  supposed  to  have  been  detained 
there,  and  which  would  keep  him  busy  for  a  number  of  days 
and  prevent  him  from  interfering  with  our  coolies  at  a  critical 
period.  We  had  brought  up  with  us  six  live  sheep,  and 
very  lively  these  proved.  Dukpa,  Mallory's  cook,  let  three 
of  them  escape,  but  luckily  some  coolies  coming  up  the 
valley  saw  two  of  them,  and  after  a  great  chase  brought 
them  back.  The  third  they  could  not  catch  and  eventually 
drove  him  under  a  cliff,  where  they  kiUed  him  with  stones 
and  brought  his  carcass  back  to  us.  The  weather  continued 
very  unsettled.  During  the  night  a  couple  of  inches  of  snow 
fell,  but  until  the  temperature  became  colder  and  the  sky 
cleared,  it  was  no  use  trying  to  go  up  to  the  upper  camp. 
I  shot  a  ramchakor  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  valley.  They 
are  the  most  tasty  of  the  Tibetan  birds,  and  are  quite 
excellent  eating. 

On  September  8,  after  a  frosty  night,  Bullock,  Mallory 
and  I  with  three  coolies,  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  fit,  made 
a  little  excursion  along  a  rocky  ridge  that  lay  to  the  South 
of  us.  On  the  top  of  the  ridge  there  were  a  number  of  sharp 
rock  pinnacles  that  had  to  be  climbed.  I  found  these  gym- 
nastics at  a  height  of  over  19,000  feet  to  be  very  exhausting, 
but  Mallory  did  not  seem  to  mind  them  in  the  least.  There 
should  have  been  a  lovely  view  from  here,  but  all  we  got 
was  an  occasional  glimpse  of  glaciers  and  rocky  peaks  through 
the  mist.  The  sun  was  trying  to  shine  through  the  clouds 
and  at  first  it  was  beautifully  warm  ;  but  after  a  couple  of 
hours  snow  began  to  fall,  so  we  hurriedly  descended  on  to 
the  glacier  below.  Snow  fell  all  the  way  back  to  camp,  and 
by  nightfall  there  were  3  inches  of  fresh  snow  round  our 
tents.  During  the  night  the  thermometer  dropped  to  21° 
Fahr.,  and  the  morning  broke  clear  and  frosty.  I  started 
off  early  to  climb  the  hill  behind  the  camp,  from  which  there 
was  a  very  extensive  view,  both  Everest  and  Makalu  being 
for  the  moment  quite  clear  and  free  from  cloud.     To  the 


THE  UPPER   KHARTA  VALLEY  135 

North  extended  a  great  range  of  snow  peaks  between  23,000 
feet  and  24,000  feet  in  height,  rather  uninteresting  in  appear- 
ance, and  to  the  East  stretched  a  great  sea  of  accumulating 
cloud,  out  of  which  appeared  the  tops  of  Kanchenjunga  and 
Jannu.  The  peak  on  which  we  stood  was  just  under  20,000 
feet ;  I  spent  several  hours  basking  in  the  hot  sunshine, 
which  was  rapidly  melting  the  fresh  snow.  I  was  surprised 
to  find  growing  at  this  height  a  tiny  yellow  saxifrage. 

That  evening  eight  coolies  arrived  with  our  long-expected 
mail,  and  the  rest  of  the  day  was  spent  in  reading  letters 
and  sorting  out  papers,  for  over  two  hundred  letters  and 
papers  had  arrived  for  me  alone.     There  was  again  a  sharp 
frost  of  10°  that  night  and  the  early  morning  was  beautiful, 
but  clouds  came  quickly  drifting  up  the  valley  and  obscured 
the  fine  views  we  had  from  the  camp  of  Mount  Everest  and 
the  rocky  peaks  to  the  North  of  the  camp.     On  September  11, 
in  spite  of  a  warm  night,  Mallory  and  Bullock,  being  very 
optimistic,   left  for  the  upper   camp,   while  Morshead  and 
Wheeler  rejoined  us  from    their  camp  below,   not    having 
been  able  to  do  any  work  down  there  owing  to  bad  weather. 
Snow  fell  steadily  all  the  evening  to  a  depth  of  about  3  inches. 
Next  day  was  cloudy,  but  warm,  and  the  snow  disappeared 
again  with  extraordinary  rapidity.     I  went  out  with  a  shot- 
gun to  try  and  shoot  some  ramchakor,  and  while  after  them 
saw  a  very  fine  grey  wolf  who  was  also  stalking  the  ram- 
chakor.    He  came  up  to  within  50  yards  of  me,  so  that  I 
was  able  to  have  a  good  look  at  him.     He  had  a  beautiful 
coat,  and  it  was  very  unfortunate  that  I  did  not  have  a  rifle 
with  me.     I  wandered  some  way  up  a  side  valley  to  the 
foot  of  a  glacier,  but  saw  no  signs  of  birds,  as  the  wolf  had 
evidently  been  there  before  me.     In  the  afternoon  Mallory 
and  Bullock   returned  from  the  upper  camp,  having    been 
driven  down  by  the  bad  weather :    another  5  inches  of  snow 
fell  that  evening,  so  that  we  were  kept  busy  beating  our 
tents  to  keep  the  ridge  poles  from  breaking.     On  September 
13,  14  and  15,  snow  fell  on  and  off  the  whole  time ;   but  in 
spite  of  the  bad   weather  I  managed  to  shoot  a  burhel  for 


136     THE   NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

food.  Their  meat  is  very  much  better  than  that  of  the  tame 
sheep.  On  September  16  we  had  at  last  a  fine  day  with  a 
sharp  frost  at  night.  Wheeler  at  once  seized  this  opportunity 
and  took  up  a  station  on  a  hill-top  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  valley,  from  which  he  was  able  to  get  some  useful 
views.  The  next  day,  after  13°  of  frost  in  the  night,  Mallory, 
Morshead  and  I  started  off  to  climb  Kama  Changri,  a  peak 
to  the  South  of  the  camp,  that  overhung  the  Kama  Valley. 
We  left  the  camp  at  2  a.m.,  by  the  light  of  a  full  moon,  which 
made  the  going  as  light  as  though  it  were  day.  We  soon 
reached  our  view-point  of  a  few  days  before,  where,  except 
for  the  distant  roar  of  the  stream  far  away  below  in  the 
vaUey,  there  was  no  other  sound,  only  an  intense  stiUness. 
Never  anjrwhere  have  I  seen  the  moon  or  the  stars  shine  so 
brightly.  To  the  South,  far  away  from  us,  there  were 
constant  flashes  of  lightning — the  valleys  in  Tibet,  the  great 
gorges  of  the  Arun,  the  wooded  valleys  of  Nepal  all  lay 
buried  under  a  white  sea  of  clouds,  out  of  which  emerged 
the  higher  mountains  like  islands  out  of  a  fairy  sea.  In 
this  bright  moonlight,  mountains  like  Kanchenjunga — 100 
miles  away — stood  out  sharp  and  distinct.  Here  on  this 
sharp  ridge,  at  a  height  of  21,000  feet,  with  no  obstruction 
to  hide  the  view,  sunrise  came  to  us  in  all  its  beauty  and 
grandeur.  To  the  West,  and  close  at  hand,  towered  up  Mount 
Everest,  still  over  8,000  feet  above  us  ;  at  first  showing  up 
cold,  grey  and  dead  against  a  sky  of  deep  purple.  All  of 
a  sudden  a  ray  of  sunshine  touched  the  summit,  and  soon 
flooded  the  higher  snows  and  ridges  with  golden  light,  while 
behind,  the  deep  purple  of  the  sky  changed  to  orange.  Makalu 
was  the  next  to  catch  the  first  rays  of  the  sun  and  glowed 
as  though  alive;  then  the  white  sea  of  clouds  was  struck  by 
the  gleaming  rays  of  the  sun,  and  all  aglow  with  colour  rose 
slowly  and  seemed  to  break  against  the  island  peaks  in  great 
billows  of  fleecy  white. 

Such  a  sunrise  has  seldom  been  the  privilege  of  man  to 
see,  and  once  seen  can  never  be  forgotten.  After  sunrise 
the  climbing  became  more  unpleasant.     We  tried  to  follow 


THE   20,000-rOOT  CAMP  137 

the  direct  way  up  the  mountain,  but  the  snow  was  in  bad 
condition  and  the  slope  very  steep.  We  therefore  crossed 
the  glacier,  putting  on  our  snow-shoes,  and  followed  easier 
snow  slopes  but  bad  owing  to  the  soft  snow.  The  going  was 
very  tiring  ;  Mallory  and  Morshead  appeared  to  feel  the 
height  very  much.  After  six  hours  we  reached  the  top, 
21,300  feet,  from  which  we  had  a  most  superb  view.  We 
looked  straight  down  on  to  the  Kama  Valley.  Makalu  was 
immediately  opposite  us  with  its  colossal  precipices.  Gla- 
ciers, cliffs  of  ice,  rock  peaks,  fluted  snow  ridges  and  immense 
mountains  towered  all  around  us  above  a  vast  sea  of  clouds 
which  stretched  for  hundreds  of  miles  away  to  the  plains  of 
India.  Here  I  was  able  to  take  many  photographs,  but  no 
photograph  can  adequately  portray  the  grandeur  or  the 
impressiveness  of  such  a  scene.  We  stopped  on  the  top  of 
Kama  Changri  for  over  three  hours.  It  was  extraordinarily 
warm  ;  there  was  not  a  breath  of  air,  and  the  sun  seemed 
to  shine  with  an  intense  heat.  Clouds  then  began  to  roll 
up,  and  we  returned  to  camp  by  an  easier  way  down  the 
glacier. 

Next  day,  in  spite  of  13°  of  frost  at  night,  snow  and  sleet 
fell  all  day  again,  and  made  us  very  depressed.  In  order  to 
prevent  our  going  to  sleep  too  soon  after  dinner,  four  of  us 
used  to  play  bridge  every  night,  and  I  do  not  suppose  that 
bridge  has  often  been  played  at  so  great  a  height. 

On  September  19,  after  a  cold  night  with  16°  of  frost, 
Mallory,  Bullock,  Morshead  and  Wheeler  started  off  for  the 
20,000-foot  camp.  The  weather  was  now  steadily  growing 
colder  every  night.  On  September  20  we  had  18°  of  frost, 
as  well  as  a  further  fall  of  snow.  During  the  night  a  very 
fine  lunar  halo  was  seen,  but  the  morning  broke  clear. 
Wollaston,  Raeburn  and  I  started  to  join  the  remainder 
of  the  party  at  the  20,000-foot  camp,  leaving  Gyalzen  Kazi, 
our  second  interpreter,  behind  in  charge  of  the  advance 
base  camp.  It  was  very  necessary  to  have  some  one  here 
to  whom  we  could  send  back  for  any  extra  stores  or  supplies 
that  might  be  wanted,  and  who  would  be  able  to  forward 


138     THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE  EXPEDITION 

to  us  anything  that  might  be  sent  up  from  Kharta.  A 
four  hours'  walk  brought  us  to  the  camp.  I  had  a  thorough 
feehng  of  lassitude  aU  the  way.  It  required,  indeed,  some 
effort  to  walk  at  all,  and  a  strong  effort,  both  of  mind  and 
body,  to  reach  camp.  On  the  way  beautiful  views  of  Mount 
Everest  gave  us  encouragement.  The  foot  of  the  Kharta 
Glacier  descends  to  19,000  feet.  From  that  point  on  to 
the  camp  we  travelled  beside  it.  At  first  the  glacier  is  cut 
up  into  wonderfully  shaped  "  seracs,"  but  as  we  got  higher 
the  surface  became  smoother.  It  was  an  exceptionally 
white  glacier ;  there  were  no  moraines  on  its  surface,  and 
it  was  covered  everywhere  with  a  fresh  coating  of  thick 
snow.  We  found  the  camp  on  a  terrace  between  two  glaciers. 
That  above  the  camp  resembled  the  pictures  of  a  Greenland 
ice  cap.  A  thick  coating  of  ice,  to  a  depth  of  50  to  60  feet, 
covered  the  gentle  slopes  above  us,  and  came  down  to  within 
a  couple  of  hundred  yards  of  the  camp.  The  drainage  from 
the  melting  ice  percolated  through  the  stony  ground,  so 
that  on  digging  to  a  depth  of  6  inches  we  came  upon  water. 
A  couple  of  hundi'ed  feet  below  the  camp  was  the  big  white 
glacier  which  descended  from  the  Lhakpa  La.  The  day  was 
gloriously  fine,  and  we  obtained  magnificent  views  of  Mount 
Everest  and  the  snowy  chain  to  the  South  of  us  across  the 
Kharta  Glacier.  Over  the  top  of  this  snowy  chain  appeared 
the  great  rocky  crests  of  Makalu.  At  an  altitude  of  over 
19,800  feet  I  saw  a  hare  and  heard  several  ramchakor  calling. 
There  grew  close  to  the  camp  a  few  gentians  with  their 
curious  square  leaves,  also  a  dwarf  blue  delphinium  and 
a  little  white  saxifrage.  It  was  an  extraordinary  height 
at  which  to  find  flowers  and  their  season  of  summer  cannot 
last  long.  On  arrival  at  the  camp,  we  found  only  Wheeler 
and  Bullock  there,  as  Mallory  and  Morshead  with  fourteen 
cooUes  had  gone  on  ahead  to  carry  loads  up  to  the  Lhakpa  La, 
which  was  to  be  our  next  camp.  They  returned  in  a  very 
exhausted  condition  in  the  course  of  the  afternoon.  The 
snow,  they  reported,  was  in  better  condition  than  last  time 
on  the  lower  slopes  ;    but  as  they  got  higher,  they  found 


THE   20,000-FOOT  CAMP  139 

it  still  very  soft  and  powdery.  These  extra  loads  that  they 
had  taken  up  to  this  camp  would  enable  the  whole  party 
to  go  up  to  it  and  to  sleep  there,  if  necessary,  for  several 
days.  As  the  sun  was  setting  behind  Mount  Everest,  we 
were  treated  to  a  glorious  view.  The  ring  of  clouds  that 
surrounded  it  were  all  touched  by  the  bright  evening  sunlight, 
while  the  mountain  itself  was  in  deep  shadow  except  for 
great  streamers  of  powdery  fresh  snow  which  were  being 
blown  off  the  whole  length  of  its  crests.  We  stood  and 
watched  this  extraordinary  sight  for  some  time,  devoutly 
hoping  that  the  wind  would  soon  die  down.  Unfortunately 
we  were  soon  to  experience  what  a  strong  wmd  meant  at 
these  heights. 

On  the  following  night  we  had  20°  of  frost,  and  the 
weather  appeared  to  be  getting  rather  more  settled.  We 
were  now  sufficiently  high  up  to  be  above  the  ordinary  clouds, 
and  we  could  look  down  upon  the  great  sea  of  them  which 
overhung  the  Arun  Valley  and  the  greater  part  of  Nepal. 
As  the  sun  warmed  the  clouds,  they  used  to  rise  higher, 
but  they  seldom  arrived  as  far  as  our  camp  owing  to  a  strong 
North-westerly  wind  always  blowing  in  the  upper  regions 
of  the  air  which  drove  them  back  again.  Watchmg  the 
movements  of  the  clouds  day  by  day  gave  me  the  impression 
that  the  Mount  Everest  group  forms  a  dividing  Hne  between 
the  two  monsoon  systems.  The  monsoon  that  causes  so 
much  rain  in  Sikkim  comes  from  the  Bay  of  Bengal,  and 
these  moist  currents  sweep  up  to  Mount  Everest,  but  it  is 
only  when  the  current  is  very  strong  that  they  pass  beyond 
it.  At  this  time  of  year  this  monsoon  was  still  active,  whereas 
the  Arabian  Sea  monsoon — that  is  to  say,  the  moist 
winds  from  the  Arabian  Sea — which  had  given  us  previously 
much  rain  and  snow  on  the  Western  sides  and  slopes  of 
Mount  Everest,  was  now  over,  with  the  result  that  on  the 
West  side  of  Everest  we  had  blue  skies  every  day  and  no 
rain  clouds,  whereas  on  the  East  side  the  clouds  and  the 
moisture  brought  up  by  the  Bengal  monsoon  still  prevailed. 
Dming  the  course  of  the  morning  I  climbed  an  easy  hill  to 


140     THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE  EXPEDITION 

the  East  side  of  the  camp  and  some  500  feet  above  it.  We 
walked  along  at  first  just  below  the  ice  cap,  which  was  very- 
pretty  with  its  long  icicles  gleaming  in  the  sunlight.  We 
then  crossed  on  to  the  ice  cap  and  found  the  snow  in  excellent 
condition,  firm  and  crisp  to  the  tread,  so  that  it  was  a  pleasure 
to  walk  along  it.  From  the  top  of  this  hill,  20,500  feet, 
was  a  very  fine  view  to  the  East,  over  the  great  sea  of  cloud 
which  filled  up  all  the  valleys  as  far  as  the  Massif  of 
Kanchenjunga  which  towered  up  in  the  distance,  and  the 
more  slender  peak  of  Jannu.  Amongst  the  Sikkim  peaks 
I  could  also  recognise  Chomiomo  and  the  Jonsong  peak. 
To  the  South  Makalu  towered  up  above  all  the  other 
mountains :  while  between  it  and  Mount  Everest,  beyond 
the  Southern  watershed  of  the  Kama  VaUey,  showed  up 
some  of  the  great  Nepalese  peaks,  among  which  we  noted 
Chamlang,  24,000  feet.  To  the  West  of  us  Mount  Everest 
showed  up  sharp  and  clear  and  very  white  after  all  the  fresh 
snow  that  had  fallen  in  the  last  month.  From  this  side 
Mount  Everest  certainly  looks  its  best,  standing  up  as  a 
solitary  peak  instead  of  being  rather  dwarfed  by  the  high 
ridges  that  radiate  from  it.  The  weather  remained  fine 
all  day,  and  it  was  a  real  pleasure  to  sit  outside  one's  tent 
and  bask  in  the  sun.  Though  we  were  20,000  feet,  we  had 
breakfast,  lunch  and  tea  out  of  doors  in  front  of  our  tents, 
and  we  could  not  have  been  warmer  or  enjoyed  pleasanter 
conditions  if  we  had  been  down  at  5,000  feet. 

On  September  22,  leaving  Raeburn  behind,  Mallory, 
Bullock,  Morshead,  Wheeler,  WoUaston  and  myself  started 
off  to  Lakhpa  La  camp.  We  left  the  20,000-foot  camp  in 
22°  of  frost  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  accompanied 
by  twenty-six  coolies,  who  were  divided  up  into  four  parties, 
each  of  which  was  properly  roped.  It  was  a  beautiful 
moonlight  night,  and  the  mountains  showed  up  nearly 
as  brightly  as  in  the  daytime.  We  rapidly  descended  the 
200  feet  from  our  terrace  to  the  glacier,  when  we  all  "  roped 
up."  The  snow  on  the  glacier  was  in  excellent  condition, 
and  as  it  was  frozen  hard  we  made  good  progress.      Dawn 


THE   20,000-rOOT   CAMP  141 

overtook  us  on  the  broad  fiat  part  of  the  glacier,  the  first 
beams  of  the  sun  falling  on  the  summit  of  Mount  Everest, 
which  lay  straight  in  front  of  us,  and  changing  the  colour 
of  the  snow  gradually  from  pink  to  orange,  all  the  time 
with  a  background  of  deep  purple  sky,  every  detail  showing 
up  sharp  and  clear  in  the  frosty  air.  We  mounted  gradually 
past  Kartse,  the  white  conical-shaped  peak  climbed  by 
Mallory  and  Bullock  a  month  ago  from  the  Kama  Valley. 
We  wended  our  way  without  much  difficulty  through  the 
ice-fall  of  the  glacier,  below  some  superbly  fluted  snow  ridges 
that  rose  straight  above  us.  Then  followed  a  long  and  at 
times  a  somewhat  steep  climb  over  soft  powdery  snow  to 
the  top  of  the  pass.  Even  at  these  heights  we  came  across 
tracks  in  the  snow.  We  were  able  to  pick  out  tracks  of 
hares  and  foxes,  but  one  that  at  first  looked  like  a  human 
foot  puzzled  us  considerably.  Our  coolies  at  once  jumped 
to  the  conclusion  that  this  must  be  "  The  Wild  Man  of  the 
Snows,"  to  which  they  gave  the  name  of  Metohkangmi, 
"  the  abominable  snow  man  "  who  interested  the  newspapers 
so  much.  On  my  return  to  civilised  countries  I  read  with 
interest  delightful  accounts  of  the  ways  and  customs  of  this 
wild  man  whom  we  were  supposed  to  have  met.  These 
tracks,  which  caused  so  much  comment,  were  probably  caused 
by  a  large  "  loping  "  grey  wolf,  which  in  the  soft  snow  formed 
double  tracks  rather  like  those  of  a  barefooted  man.  Tibet, 
however,  is  not  the  only  country  where  there  exists  a  "  bogey 
man."  In  Tibet  he  takes  the  form  of  a  hairy  man  who 
lives  in  the  snows,  and  little  Tibetan  children  who  are  naughty 
and  disobedient  are  frightened  by  wonderful  fairy  tales 
that  are  told  about  him.  To  escape  from  him  they  must 
run  down  the  hill,  as  then  his  long  hair  falls  over  his  eyes 
and  he  is  unable  to  see  them.  Many  other  such  tales  have 
they  with  which  to  strike  terror  into  the  hearts  of  bad  boys 
and  girls. 

I  reached  the  top  of  the  pass  (22,350  feet)  by  10.30  a.m., 
and  was  rewarded  by  a  wonderful  view  of  Mount  Everest, 
now  only  a  couple  of  miles  awa3\     From  the  pass  there 


142     THE  NARRATIVE   OF   THE   EXPEDITION 

was  a  steep  descent  of  about  1,200  feet  to  a  glacier  which 
after  many  wanderings  finds  its  way  into  the  Rongbuk 
Glacier.  This  valley  had  never  been  thoroughly  investigated 
by  MaUory  and  Bullock  in  their  visit  to  the  Rongbuk  VaUey. 
It  does  not,  however,  actually  form  the  main  Rongbuk 
Glacier,  but  stops  several  miles  short  of  it,  the  entrance 
to  the  vaUey  containing  this  huge  glacier  being  both  small 
and  very  insignificant.  The  bad  weather  that  they  had 
experienced  in  the  Rongbuk  VaUey  during  the  latter  half 
of  their  stay  there  had  made  it  impossible  for  Mallory  and 
Bullock  to  explore  this  vaUey,  or  see  what  lay  at  its  head. 
We  were  now  opposite  the  Chang  La  (North  Col)  which 
joins  Mount  Everest  to  Changtse  (the  North  peak),  and 
from  this  col  was,  so  far  as  we  were  able  to  judge,  the  only 
route  to  the  summit.  The  way  from  the  glacier  up  to  the 
Chang  La  looked  steep  and  unpromising,  and  we  doubted 
whether  it  would  be  possible  to  take  laden  coolies  up,  even 
to  this  point.  I  took  as  many  photographs  as  I  could,  and 
as  quickly  as  possible,  for  there  was  an  icy  wind  blowing 
which  almost  froze  my  hands.  This  wind  blew  the  fine 
powdery  snow  off  all  the  crests  of  the  ridges  and  it  penetrated 
everywhere.  We  found  a  little  hollow  in  the  snow  a  few 
feet  below  the  crest,  and  here  we  set  to  work  to  pitch  our 
camp.  There  was  not  much  shelter,  but  it  was  the  only 
possible  place.  We  had  only  brought  small  Alpine  Meade 
and  Mummery  tents  with  us.  Two  of  us  occupied  each 
tent.  They  were  very  small  and  uncomfortable,  and  in 
order  to  enter  them  we  had  to  crawl  through  a  narrow  funnel 
almost  as  though  we  were  entering  a  dog  kennel.  The 
effort  of  crawling  in  was  very  exhausting  and  caused  us  to 
remain  out  of  breath  for  a  considerable  time  afterwards. 
Even  these  small  tents  were  with  difficulty  pitched  owing 
to  the  strong  winds :  cooking  was  quite  out  of  the  question 
until  dark  when  the  wind  temporarily  lulled.  We  had 
brought  up  with  us  some  Primus  stoves  and  spirit  lamps. 
No  one,  except  perhaps  Wheeler,  was  very  expert  with  the 
Primus  stove,  and  though  no  doubt  under  favourable  con- 


THE   20,000-FOOT   CAMP  143 

ditions  they  would  be  easy  to  work,  even  at  these  heights, 
we  were  never  very  successful  with  them  and  were  forced 
to  rely  upon  the  spirit  stoves.  After  sunset  we  had  a  scratch 
meal  of  consomme,  which  we  managed  to  warm  up,  followed 
by  some  cold  ham  and  biscuits,  after  which  we  retired  to 
bed.  The  moment  the  sun  went  down  there  were  25°  of 
frost.  Up  till  now  I  had  felt  no  ill-effects  from  the  rarefied 
air  ;  I  had  not  even  had  a  headache  and  my  appetite  was 
good,  though  I  owned  to  feeling  rather  lazy  and  it  always 
needed  an  effort  to  concentrate  one's  thoughts.  The  coolies 
who  had  accompanied  us  up  to  this  camp  all  seemed  to  be 
well  and  were  very  cheerful.  The  eiderdown  sleeping-bags 
were  a  great  comfort ;  they  were  our  only  means  of  keeping 
thoroughly  warm  with  34°  of  frost  outside.  But  I  cannot 
say  that  I  felt  comfortable  or,  in  fact,  that  I  slept  at  all, 
as  the  snow  which  at  most  times  had  been  much  too  soft, 
seemed  here  to  freeze  into  uncomfortable  lumps  and  bumps 
underneath  one's  back,  so  that  I  could  never  get  comfortable 
all  night.  The  wind  howled  round  our  flimsy  tents,  and  I 
do  not  think  anyone,  except  perhaps  Mallory,  got  any  sleep 
that  night.  In  the  morning  we  were  all  suffering  from  bad 
headaches,  due  to  the  airlessness  of  these  little  tents,  and 
I  am  sure  that  anyone  camping  at  high  altitudes  ought  to 
have  a  much  larger  type  of  tent  in  which  to  sleep  if  he  is  to 
avoid  headaches.  We  blessed  the  early  morning  sun  when 
it  appeared  and  began  to  unfreeze  us.  I  noticed  then  that 
our  faces  and  hands  were  all  a  curious  blue  colour  in  the 
morning,  due  to  what  is  called,  I  believe,  cyanosis  of  the 
blood.  With  much  difficulty  Wheeler  made  us  a  little  tea, 
which  if  not  drunk  at  once,  froze  ;  Mallory  thawed  out  some 
sardines  which  had  all  been  frozen  soHd.  There  was  luckily 
less  wind  than  during  the  night,  and  as  the  sun  rose  higher, 
we  all  became  more  alive.  The  coolies,  too,  were  at  first 
all  torpid  and  complained  of  bad  headaches,  but  on  getting 
into  the  fresh  air,  out  of  their  small  and  stuffy  tents,  the 
headaches  rapidly  passed  away.  After  consultation,  we 
decided  that  there  was  no  object — in  fact,  that  it  would 


144     THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

be  dangerous — for  the  whole  party  to  go  on,  so  we  decided 
that  it  would  be  best  for  the  expert  Alpine  climbers  only, 
together  with  a  few  picked  cooHes,  to  attempt  the  Chang  La. 
If  weather  conditions  were  favourable,  they  might,  we 
thought,  see  how  high  they  could  get  on  Mount  Everest 
itself.  We  therefore  quickly  sorted  out  and  divided  up  the 
stores,  and  after  seeing  Mallory,  Bullock  and  Wheeler  off, 
unpitched  our  own  tents,  being  satisfied  that  we  could  be 
of  no  use  by  remaining  where  we  were,  and  that  it  would 
be  best  that  we  should  return  to  our  20,000-foot  camp  and 
carry  down  with  us  as  many  stores  as  we  could.  We 
accomplished  this  without  any  difficulty,  and  arrived  back 
during  the  course  of  the  afternoon.  The  contrast  here 
was  extraordinary.  We  seemed  to  be  in  a  totally  different 
climate,  and  our  larger  tents  and  camp  beds  appeared  to 
us  to  be  the  height  of  luxury.  We  spent  a  very  comfortable 
night  in  spite  of  22°  of  frost,  and  all  slept  soundly  after  our 
exertions,  though  once  or  twice  during  the  night  I  was 
awakened  by  rats  gnawing  at  the  food  which  had  been  left 
out  on  the  boxes  in  my  tent.  One  of  the  coolies  also  started 
to  say  his  prayers  in  a  loud  tone  of  voice  at  1  a.m.,  but  after 
a  few  winged  words  he  relapsed  into  silence. 

The  next  day  was  delightfully  warm  and  sunny,  though 
there  had  been  during  the  night  a  good  deal  of  Hghtning 
towards  the  South.  The  snow  could  be  seen  whirling  off 
the  crest  of  Mount  Everest  during  the  morning,  and  in  the 
course  of  the  afternoon  the  wind  grew  much  stronger,  and 
blew  huge  clouds  of  snow  off  the  slopes  of  the  mountain, 
and  from  all  the  surrounding  ridges.  We  could  see  great 
wisps  of  snow  being  blown  off  the  pass  that  we  had  just 
left,  so  that  the  climbing  party  must  have  been  having  a 
very  cold  time  in  their  new  camp.  In  the  evening  there 
was  a  curious  false  sunset  in  the  East  with  fine  purple  and 
orange  rays,  while  as  usual  the  Kama  and  the  Kharta  Valleys 
were  filled  with  a  sea  of  cloud.  Here,  however,  we  seemed 
to  be  above  and  beyond  the  reach  of  the  clouds.  Next 
night  there  was  again  constant  lightning  to  the  South  and 


THE   20,000-rOOT  CAMP  145 

23°  of  frost,  but  the  weather  kept  fine  and  sunny.  On 
climbing  a  snow-covered  hill  to  the  West  of  the  camp,  about 
21,000  feet,  I  had  some  superb  views  of  Everest  and  Makalu 
with  their  appalling  cliffs  and  beautifully-fluted  snow  slopes. 
A  strong  North-westerly  gale  still  continued  in  the  upper 
regions  of  the  air  above  22,000  feet,  and  every  ridge  of  Everest 
was  smothered  with  clouds  of  blown  snow.  I  had  a  pleasant 
glissade  down  steep  snow  slopes  back  to  the  camp,  where 
the  climate  was  delicious  and  where  I  could  bask  in  the 
sun  at  the  entrance  of  my  tent  with  a  sun  temperature  of 
173°  Fahr.  Earlier  in  the  season  we  had  often  recorded 
temperatures  of  195°  and  197°  Fahr.  in  the  sun  with  the 
black  bulb  thermometer.  During  the  afternoon  we  were 
able  with  our  glasses  to  see  black  specks  appearing  on  the 
top  of  the  Lhakpa  La.  These  were  the  Alpine  climbers 
and  their  coolies  returning  after  their  strenuous  efforts  on 
Mount  Everest.  We  watched  them  with  the  greatest  interest 
descending  the  glacier  and  wondered  how  far  they  had  been 
successful.  They  all  arrived  back  safely  in  the  course  of 
the  evening,  having  been  extraordinarily  lucky  in  not  having 
had  any  casualties  or  frost-bites  in  spite  of  the  Arctic  gales. 
Mallory  will,  however,  tell  of  their  adventures  in  another 
chapter. 


M.E. 


CHAPTER   IX 

THE   RETURN   TO  KHARTA   BY   THE   KAMA 

VALLEY 

Winter  was  now  rapidly  approaching.  Every  night 
was  growing  steadily  colder,  and  we  were  all  anxious  to 
get  down  to  lower  altitudes.  Every  one  had  been  feelmg 
the  strain  of  life  at  these  high  altitudes.  It  had  been, 
however,  a  great  relief  to  us  that  all  the  party  had  got  back 
to  the  20,000-foot  camp  in  safety,  and  that  we  had  had  no 
cases  of  siclaiess  or  frost-bite.  The  coolies  had  throughout 
worked  most  willingly  and  to  the  best  of  their  ability.  They 
had  been  well  supplied  with  boots  and  socks,  warm  clothing 
of  aU  kinds,  cap  comforters  and  fur  gloves,  as  weU  as 
blankets,  and  for  those  who  had  slept  at  the  higher  camps, 
eiderdown  sleeping-bags  had  been  provided  capable  of  holding 
four  or  five.  Here  at  the  20,000-foot  camp  we  did  not  have 
to  depend  on  Primus  stoves  or  spirit  lamps,  as  while  we 
were  waiting  at  the  advanced  base  camp  we  had  daily  sent 
up  coolies  with  loads  of  wood  for  our  future  use,  and  even 
during  our  stay  here  the  coolies  who  had  been  left  behind 
under  Gyalzen  Kazi  had  been  sending  up  further  loads. 
We  now  divided  our  party  into  two :  Mallory,  Bullock, 
Raeburn  and  Morshead  were  to  be  responsible  for  taking 
all  the  stores  back  to  Kliarta,  and  for  this  purpose  we  had 
arranged  with  Chheten  Wangdi  and  the  Kharta  Jongpen 
for  a  number  of  Tibetan  coolies  to  help  in  the  work  of  removal. 
The  remainder  of  us,  that  is  to  say,  Wollaston,  Wheeler 
and  myself,  were  to  cross  over  a  snow  pass  and  return  to 
Kharta  via  the  Kama  Valley.  Wheeler  was  anxious  to  do 
this  in  order  to  complete  his  survey  work,  for  up  till  now 
he  had  been  unable  to  visit  the  Kama  Valley.     Wollaston 

146 


TO  KHARTA  BY  THE  KAMA  VALLEY        147 

had  already  seen  the  lower  parts  of  the  Kama  Valley,  but 
was  very  anxious  to  see  the  upper  end,  particularly  after 
my  descriptions  of  the  scenery  and  the  Alpine  flowers  that 
were  to  be  met  with  there. 

On  September  26  the  two  parties  started  off  in  different 
directions.  Taking  with  us  fifteen  coolies,  all  pretty  heavily 
laden,  we  descended  to  the  great  Kharta  Glacier,  which 
it  was  necessary  for  us  to  cross.  We  were  not  at  all  certain 
as  to  the  conditions  we  were  likely  to  meet  with  on  the 
other  side  of  the  pass.  The  climb  from  the  Kharta  Glacier 
to  the  Karpo  La,  20,300  feet,  was  quite  gentle,  though  the 
snow  was  very  soft  and  powdery.  On  the  North  side  of 
the  pass  we  found  the  slopes  to  be  a  snow-covered  glacier, 
but  on  the  South  ^iHc  there  was  a  very  steep  rocky  descent 
which  had  to  be  faced.  From  the  top  of  the  pass  we  had  a 
remarkably  fine  view  into  the  Kama  VaUey  which  lay  below 
us.  Makalu,  Pethangtse  and  Everest  stood  up  clear  above 
the  clouds  which  floated  along  the  bottom  of  the  Kama 
VaUey.  Across  the  gaps  between  these  peaks  wo  could  see 
other  snow  ranges  in  Nepal.  Here  at  the  top  Ji  the  pass 
we  were  luckily  just  sheltered  from  the  North-west  and 
the  gale,  but  on  either  side  of  us  snow  was  being  blown  off 
the  mountains  in  long  white  streamers.  Our  descent  was 
down  a  very  steep  rocky  rib.  We  began  by  roping  ourselves 
together,  but  the  coolies  were  all  of  them  heavily  laden 
and  were,  moreover,  very  clumsy  on  the  rope,  sending  down 
so  many  loose  stones  that  I  found  my  position  as  foremost 
man  quite  untenable  owing  to  the  amount  of  debris  and 
rocks  which  were  dislodged  above  me.  We  therefore  unroped, 
and  Wollaston  lowered  the  coolies  one  by  one  over  the 
steepest  part — a  somewhat  long  proceeding — after  which 
they  were  able  independently  to  make  their  way  down  to 
the  glacier  below  without  mishap.  We  now  put  on  the  rope 
again,  and  so  crossed  the  easy  glacier  which  led  down  to 
the  moraine  on  which  I  had  been  two  months  before. 
Wheeler  branched  off  here  and  took  up  a  position  on  one 
of  the  ridges.     Here  he  found  the  gale  very  troublesome. 


148     THE   NARRATIVE   OF   THE   EXPEDITION 

his  theodolite  being  nearly  blown  over  several  times.  He 
managed,  however,  to  take  a  number  of  readings  and  to 
get  a  good  many  photographs — sufficient  to  map  the  whole 
of  the  upper  part  of  the  Kama  Valley.  All  that  day  the 
gale  continued  above  20,000  feet.  Below  this  the  valley 
was  filled  with  clouds,  over  which  at  first  we  had  magnificent 
views.  As  soon  as  we  descended  into  the  valley,  we 
gradually  became  enveloped  in  the  autumn  mists,  which 
lasted  aU  the  remainder  of  the  way  to  Pethang  Ringmo. 
This  was  the  place  where  I  had  met  the  yak  herds  two 
months  before  when  they  were  pasturing  their  yaks  on  the 
grassy  uplands.  They  had  left  the  place,  and  we  were 
therefore  no  longer  able  to  draw  on  them  for  butter  and 
milk.  I  had,  however,  arranged  for  Wheeler's  fat  cook 
to  be  sent  up  from  Kharta  to  this  place  to  meet  us  and  to 
bring  with  him  some  fresh  meat  and  vegetables.  These 
we  found  on  arrival,  the  fat  cook  having  only  arrived  an 
hour  before.  We  all  of  us  slept  that  night  much  better  than 
we  had  been  doing  at  the  higher  camps,  and  though  even 
down  here  we  had  14°  of  frost,  I  was  delighted  to  find  that 
my  boots  were  not  frozen  as  hard  as  nails,  as  they  had  been 
all  the  last  week. 

From  this  camp  I  determined  to  attempt  an  expedition 
which  I  had  long  desired  to  make.  My  ambition  was  to 
reach  the  ridge  between  Makalu  and  Everest,  and  from 
it  to  have  a  look  right  down  into  Nepal.  MaUory  and 
Bullock  did  not  much  encourage  me  in  my  project,  and 
doubted  whether  it  could  be  accomplished  within  the  short 
time  which  was  now  available.  I  decided,  nevertheless, 
to  make  the  attempt.  On  the  night  of  the  26th  all  our 
servants  overslept  themselves,  and  I  had  some  difficulty 
in  waking  them  next  morning.  We  succeeded,  however, 
after  a  hurried  breakfast  in  making  a  start  at  5.45  a.m., 
just  as  the  first  sunlight  was  touching  the  highest  peak 
of  Mount  Everest.  It  was  a  most  perfect  autumn  morning, 
without  a  cloud  in  the  sky  and  with  the  ground  underfoot 
white  with  hoar-frost.      After  going  a  mile  up  the  valley, 


TO   KHARTA   BY   THE   KAMA  VALLEY        149 

we  had  to  cross  the  Kangshung  Glacier — here  about  a 
mile  wide  and  consisting  of  a  great  mass  of  ice  hummocks, 
often  100  feet  or  more  in  height,  mostly  covered  with 
boulders,  with  the  ice  showing  every  now  and  then  below 
us  in  curious  caverns  and  lakes.  It  took  us  an  hour  to  cross 
this  glacier,  as  the  walking  was  very  tiring  up  and  down 
hill  over  loose  stones  all  the  time  ;  luckily,  however,  many 
of  the  stones  were  frozen  to  the  ice,  which  made  the  crossing 
easier  than  it  might  have  been  later  in  the  day.  We  then 
climbed  on  to  a  spur,  over  19,000  feet,  which  jutted  out 
into  the  valley.  From  this  we  had  marvellous  views  right 
away  to  Kanchenjunga  in  the  East.  On  the  opposite  side 
Mount  Everest  stood  out  with  every  detail  showing  clearly 
in  the  autumn  sunshine.  Above  us  towered  the  perpendicular 
cliffs  of  Chomolonzo,  opening  out  into  a  most  astonishing 
series  of  peaks,  the  existence  of  which  we  had  never  suspected 
when  looking  at  the  mountain  from  the  valley  below.  For 
once  in  a  way  the  air  was  drier  and  the  valleys  below  were 
not  filled  with  cloud,  so  there  was  a  prospect  of  our  having 
clear  views  all  day.  Wheeler  had  come  a  short  way  along 
the  ridge  until  he  got  a  good  view-point,  when  he  stopped 
to  set  up  his  theodolite  and  camera  for  a  station,  after  which 
he  came  along  no  further.  I  followed  the  crest  of  the  ridge 
as  far  as  I  could,  finding  it  at  times  very  difficult  and  rocky 
and  having  to  make  many  detours  to  get  along.  A  descent 
of  about  500  feet  was  followed  by  a  climb  of  another  1,000  feet, 
at  the  end  of  which  we  found  ourselves  exactly  opposite 
to  the  great  amphitheatre  of  granite  formed  by  Chomolonzo 
and  Makalu  and  facing  Westwards.  So  steep  were  these 
great  white  granite  cliffs  that  no  snow  lodged  on  them. 
Above  them  were  other  cliffs  of  ice  with  rather  gentler  slopes  ; 
at  their  feet  was  a  great  glacier  that  filled  up  the  whole  of 
this  basin  and  then  swept  down  till  it  almost  joined  the 
Kangshung  Glacier.  I  had  taken  with  me  as  usual  Ang  Tenze 
and  Nyima  Tendu,  the  two  coolies  who  always  accompanied 
me,  each  of  them  carrjring  a  camera.  We  now  came  to  a 
glacier  which  it  was  necessary  to  cross,  and  therefore  roped 


150     THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE  EXPEDITION 

up  once  more.  The  snow  hy  this  time  had  become  rather 
soft,  and  we  were  constantly  breaking  through  the  crust. 
The  glare  and  heat  of  the  sun  on  this  glacier  were  very 
intense,  and  both  Nyima  and  I  were  feehng  very  limp  from 
the  heat.  Ang  Tenze  was  extraordinarily  active  and  did 
not  seem  to  mind  heat  or  height — a  quite  exceptionally 
gifted  mountaineer.  Having  successfully  crossed  the  glacier, 
we  left  the  soft  snow  and  found  our  way  over  some  easy 
rocks  and  eventually  reached  the  top  of  the  ridge  for  which 
we  were  making,  at  a  height  of  about  21,500  feet,  and  some 
500  feet  above  the  snow-covered  pass  to  the  East  of  us. 
From  the  top  of  the  ridge  we  had  a  most  glorious  view 
looking  across  range  upon  range  of  snowy  mountains  in 
Nepal.  Immediately  below  us  was  a  large  snow  "  neve," 
towards  which  glaciers  descended  from  a  number  of  snow- 
covered  peaks.  From  this  neve  a  great  glacier  swept  round 
towards  the  Southern  side  of  Makalu,  apparently  descending 
into  a  valley  that  ran  parallel  to  the  Kama  Valley  and  on 
the  South  side  of  Makalu.  Chamlang  and  other  snow  peaks 
to  the  South  showed  up  very  clearly,  covered  with  snow  and 
ice  to  very  much  lower  elevations  than  any  mountain  on 
the  North  side  of  the  Himalayas.  On  either  side  of  us  towered 
up  Makalu  and  Everest,  but  seen  from  this  point  the  huge 
cliffs  of  Chomolonzo  presented  by  far  the  most  astounding 
sight.  From  here  I  could  see  a  few  thousand  feet  of  the 
Southern  slopes  of  Mount  Everest  which  we  had  been  unable 
to  see  from  any  other  point  before.  From  the  angle  at  which 
I  saw  them  these  appeared  very  steep,  and  even  if  it  were 
possible  and  permissible  to  go  into  Nepal,  it  seems  improbable 
that  a  practicable  route  lies  up  that  face  of  the  mountain. 
I  spent  a  couple  of  hours  up  here  taking  photographs,  enjoying 
the  views,  and  eating  my  lunch  in  comfort,  for  the  sun  was 
hot  and  for  once  in  a  way  there  was  no  wind.  To  the  South- 
west of  us,  across  the  neve,  there  appeared  to  be  another 
easy  pass  which  seemed  to  lead  round  to  the  South  of  Mount 
Everest,  and  Ang  Tenze,  who  came  from  the  Khombu  Valley, 
said  that  he  thought  that  he  recognised  some  of  the  mountain 


Chomoi.onzo. 
from  the  alp  below  the  Langma  La,  Kama  \'alley. 


TO   KHARTA   BY   THE   KAMA   VALLEY        151 

tops  that  he  saw  over  this,  and  that  if  we  crossed  this  pass, 
we   should   eventually   descend   into   the   Khombu   Valley. 
He  also  told  me  that  there  were  stories  that  once  upon  a 
time  there  was  a  pass  from  the  Khombu  Valley  into  the 
Kama  Valley,  and  that  this  was  probably  the  pass  in  question, 
but  that  it  had  been  disused  for  a  great  number  of  years. 
To  support  his  theory  we  found  on  the  way  down  a  kind  of 
shelter  built  of  stones  and  some  pieces  of  juniper  hidden 
under  a  big  rock.     This  would  have  been  too  high  up  for 
any  yak  herds  to  camp,  as  it  was  above  the  grazing  pastures, 
and  seemed  to  prove  that  the  spot  might  have  been  used  as 
a  halting-place  for  smugglers  or  people  fleeing  from  the  law 
before  they  crossed  these  passes.     It  had  taken  us  six  and  a 
half  hours  from  camp  to  get  up  to  the  top  of  this  pass  ;   and 
we  had  had  no  halts  on  the  way  beyond  what  were  necessary 
to  take  photographs.     The  downward  journey  took  us  four 
hours.     We  tried  another  way  by  the  side  of  the  Makalu 
Glacier,  desiring  thereby  to  avoid  the  tiresome  and  rather 
difficult  bit  along  the  top  of  the  ridge.    This  short  cut  proved, 
however,  to  be  still  more  trying  and  wearisome.     From  the 
cliffs  above  there  had  been  great  rock  falls  dowTi  to  the  edge 
of  the  glacier,  and  for  a  couple  of  miles  we  had  to  jump  from 
boulder  to  boulder  and  to  clamber  either  up  or  down  the 
whole  time.    There  was  still  the  Kangshung  Glacier  to  cross, 
with  more  up  and  down  hill  work,  the  stones  being  much 
looser  and  more  inclined  to  slip  under  foot  than  they  were 
in  the  morning.     Eventually  we  reached  camp,  just  before 
dark,  and  feeling  very  tired.     A  cup  of  tea,  however,  with 
a    little   brandy    in    it,    completely    removed    all    fatigue. 
Wollaston  had  been  able  during  the  day  to  get  some  beautiful 
photographs    of   the   snow-powdered   cliffs    of    Chomolonzo, 
and  also  some  interesting  ones  of  the  Kangshung  Glacier. 
Besides  these  he  had  been  able  to  collect  a  number  of  seeds. 
It  is  astonishmg  how  quickly  at  these  heights  seeds  ripen, 
and  how  short  a  time  it  is  after  flowering  that  they  are  fit 
for  pickuig. 

We  had  been  very  lucky  in  getting  such  a  perfect  day 


152     THE  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  EXPEDITION 

in  the  Kama  Valley,  for  fine  days  there  were  very  few. 
After  our  one  perfect  day  the  weather  changed  again,  and 
for  the  next  three  days  we  descended  the  Kama  Valley 
in  sleet  and  snow.  The  first  morning  our  march  was  only 
to  our  old  camp  at  Tangsham  on  a  glacial  terrace  1,000 
feet  above  the  vaUey.  At  first  Everest  was  clear  and  all 
the  mountains  to  the  West,  but  heavy  clouds  came  roUing 
up  from  the  South-east  and  soon  enveloped  everything. 
On  the  way  I  managed  to  collect  for  WoUaston  a  number  of 
the  seeds  of  that  lovely  blue  primula  which  I  had  found  in 
flower  here  in  August.  I  shot,  too,  a  common  snipe,  which 
I  was  very  surprised  to  meet  at  these  altitudes.  I  flushed 
him  beside  a  small  spring  close  to  the  camp.  During  the 
afternoon  it  snowed  and  sleeted,  and  Wheeler  came  in  very 
tired  in  the  evening  after  having  spent  the  whole  of  the  day 
on  a  prominent  peak,  from  which  he  had  been  unable  to  get 
a  single  photograph  or  to  take  any  bearings.  In  spite  of  the 
snow  that  evening  we  had  a  cheery  bonfire  of  juniper,  willow 
and  rhododendron.  The  next  morning,  though  we  were 
down  at  15,000  feet,  there  were  a  couple  of  inches  of  fresh 
snow  on  the  ground.  The  weather  at  first  was  very  misty, 
and  we  had  no  views  at  aU.  We  soon,  however,  descended 
below  the  snow,  and  the  autumnal  colours  in  the  valley 
began  to  show.  On  the  opposite  side  of  it  below  the  great 
black  cliffs,  the  bushes  were  all  shades  of  brown  and  gold. 
In  the  forests  the  rose  bushes  had  turned  a  briUiant  red, 
and  the  mountain  ash  showed  every  shade  of  scarlet  and 
crimson,  contrasting  well  with  the  shiny  dark  green  leaves 
of  the  rhododendron.  The  golden  colours  of  the  birch  and 
the  dark  junipers  also  made  a  beautiful  combination  of  colour. 
Rain  set  in  again  steadily,  and  as  snow  was  falling  on 
the  "  field  of  marigolds"  where  we  had  intended  to  camp, 
we  pitched  our  tents  in  the  midst  of  a  huge  rock-fall — 1,000 
feet  lower  down.  Our  coolies  did  not  pitch  any  tents  for 
themselves,  but  preferred  to  scatter  in  twos  and  threes 
and  to  camp  under  the  overhanging  rocks  which  they  found 
apparently  warmer  and  more  comfortable  than  the  tents. 


TO  KHARTA  BY  THE  KAMA  VALLEY       153 

There  had  been  a  wonderful  growth  of  vegetation  among 
these  huge  boulders,  many  of  them  40  feet  to  50  feet  in 
height,  which  had  come  down  from  the  cliffs  above.  Wollaston 
and  I  spent  most  of  the  afternoon  pottering  round  and 
collecting  seeds  of  plants  of  different  kinds.  The  next 
morning  we  had  trouble  in  getting  hold  of  the  coolies  ;  they 
were  scattered  among  the  rocks,  and  in  spite  of  shouts, 
refused  to  budge  until  I  went  round  with  a  big  stick  and 
poked  them  out  of  their  holes.  I  crossed  the  Shao  La  in 
thick  mist,  though  Wollaston  and  Wheeler,  who  came  along 
an  hour  behind,  had  some  beautiful  glimpses  of  Makalu 
in  the  clouds  and  were  able  to  get  some  photographs.  After 
crossing  the  pass,  we  descended  past  several  beautiful  lakes 
and  arrived  in  fine  weather  at  Kharta  in  the  afternoon. 
The  autumn  tints  on  the  way  down  were  again  very  beautiful, 
and  most  of  the  crops  had  aheady  been  gathered  in.  Mallory 
and  Bullock  had,  we  found,  left  Kharta,  being  in  a  great 
hurry  to  get  back  to  civihsation  again. 

It  was  September  30  when  we  reached  Kharta.  We  had 
now  finished  our  reconnaissance.  We  had  investigated 
all  the  valleys  to  the  West,  North-west,  North,  North-east 
and  East  of  the  mountain,  and  had  eventually  found  that 
there  was  only  one  possible  route  of  approach  to  the  summit. 
The  bad  weather  and  the  furious  North-westerly  gales  had 
prevented  our  attaining  any  great  height  this  year.  The 
rainy  season  had  begun  some  three  weeks  later  than  usual. 
The  rains,  they  told  us,  had  been  much  heavier  than  in 
most  years  in  Tibet,  and  the  wet  season  had  lasted  until 
very  nearly  the  end  of  September,  after  which  time  a  period 
of  gales  set  in  which  made  climbmg  at  heights  above  23,000 
feet  a  physical  impossibility.  Undoubtedly  the  best  time 
to  try  and  climb  the  mountain  would  be  before  the  monsoon 
breaks  in  May  or  early  June.  It  might  be  possible,  if  the 
monsoon  happened  to  end  by  the  beginning  of  September, 
to  taclde  the  mountain  early  in  September,  but  after  the 
middle  of  that  month  the  chances  of  doing  any  good  grow 
steadily  weaker  and  the  cold  increases  with  great  rapidity. 


154     THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE  EXPEDITION 

Whether  it  wiU  be  possible  in  any  conditions  to  reach  the 
summit  I  am  very  doubtful.  We,  however,  had  never 
intended  to  make  a  sustained  effort  to  reach  the  top  in 
1921.  The  reconnaissance  of  the  mountain  and  its  approaches 
afforded  us  indeed  no  time  to  make  such  an  effort,  and  we 
felt  bound  to  investigate  every  valley  that  led  up  to  it. 
The  Everest  Committee  had  already  before  we  left  for  India 
in  1921  decided  to  send  out  a  second  Expedition  in  the 
following  year,  for  the  express  purpose  of  climbing  Mount 
Everest,  and  for  this  purpose  had  already  then  promised 
the  leadership  to  Brig. -General  C.  G.  Bruce,  whose  unrivalled 
knowledge  of  climbing  and  climatic  conditions  in  the 
Himalayas  specially  fitted  him  for  the  work.  Whether 
the  task  is  capable  of  accomplishment  I  will  not  attempt 
to  say,  though  I  should  think  the  chances  are  on  the  whole 
against  success.  If  Mount  Everest  were  6,000,  or  even 
5,000  feet  lower,  I  think  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  could 
be  climbed.  There  are  no  physical  difficulties  in  the  shape 
of  the  mountain  which  prevent  it  being  climbed — the 
difficulties  are  all  connected  with  its  altitude.  If  the  snow 
is  soft  and  powdery,  and  the  conditions  are  such  as  we  met 
with  so  often  ;  or  if,  again,  there  is  difficult  rock  climbing 
in  the  last  2,000  or  3,000  feet  of  the  climb,  I  do  not  think 
the  summit  will  be  reached.  I  cannot  say  what  the  effect 
will  be  if  oxygen  is  taken  to  aid  the  human  effort.  I  only 
know  that  cylinders  of  oxygen  are  very  uncomfortable  and 
heavy  to  carry,  and  that  to  wear  a  mask  over  the  mouth 
and  to  chmb  so  equipped  would  not  seem  to  be  very  feasible 
or  pleasant.  Living  at  great  heights,  and  trying  to  sleep 
at  great  heights,  lowers  the  vitality  enormously.  Larger 
tents  than  those  with  which  we  were  supplied  might  well 
be  taken  in  order  to  prevent  the  depressing  headaches  that 
follow  from  sleeping  in  a  confined  and  airless  space.  Among 
minor  discomforts  which  count  for  much  may  be  mentioned 
the  difficulty  of  preparing  good  warm  food,  and  for  this 
purpose  a  coolie  should  be  trained  in  cooking  and  in  the  use 
of  the  "  Primus  "  and  spirit  stoves.     This  coolie  should  be 


TO   KHARTA   BY   THE   KAMA  VALLEY        155 

a  man  accustomed  to  great  heights,  and  he  should  accompany 
the  party  up  to  the  highest  camps  in  order  to  avoid  the 
difficulties  we  had  in  connection  with  the  preparation  of 
our  food  and  then  having  to  live  on  such  makeshifts  as 
sardines  and  biscuits.  I  never  lost  my  appetite  at  heights 
over  20,000  feet — I  was  always  able  to  eat  well,  though  not 
everything  appealed  to  the  palate.  Sweet  things  were 
especially  wanted.  That  it  is  possible  to  acclimatise  the 
system  to  live  at  heights  is  true,  but  only  to  a  certain  extent — 
up  to  about  18,000  feet  we  could  acclimatise  ourselves  very 
comfortably,  and  I  know  in  my  own  case  that  after  six  months' 
living  in  Tibet,  I  was  able  to  do  far  more  than  when  I  first 
came  into  the  country,  but  at  greater  heights  I  think  a 
prolonged  stay  permanently  lowers  the  vitality.  Sleeplessness 
is  another  great  enemy  at  heights,  and  most  of  the  party 
I  found  slept  very  poorly  at  the  highest  camp.  Mallory, 
I  think,  was  the  only  exception.  It  ought  to  be  possible  to 
pick  out  a  few  coolies  capable  of  carrying  loads  able  to  go 
as  far  as  any  European  can  get.  Some  of  them  seem  to 
feel  the  height  much  less  than  others,  and  I  believe  that  an 
unladen  native  would  be  able  to  go  much  higher  if  he  had 
the  knowledge  of  ice  and  snow  that  Alpine  climbers  have, 
and  would  not  improbably  reach  a  greater  height  than 
any  European.  Twenty-nine  thousand  feet  is,  however,  a 
tremendous  height  for  anyone  to  attain,  and  I  own  that  I 
am  not  at  all  sanguine  that  the  summit  will  be  reached, 
though  I  have  no  doubt  that  this  year  will  see  the  Duke  of 
the  Abruzzi's  record  of  24,600  broken,  and  I  shall  not 
be  at  all  surprised  to  see  a  height  of  25,000  or  26,000  feet 
arrived  at. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  RETURN   JOURNEY  TO   PHARI 

Autumn    had    already    come    to    Kharta.     The    willows 
and  the  poplars  under  which  we  were  camped  were  fast 
shedding  their  leaves,  which  rustled  on  the  ground,  or  blew 
into  our  tents,  a  warning  that  winter  was  not  far  off.     Even 
here  there  were  one  or  two  degrees  of  frost  every  night.     The 
days,  however,  were  still  warm  and  sunny.     The  next  five 
days  were   fully   occupied  with   strenuous   work.     Wheeler 
and  I  took  alternate  mornings  and  afternoons  in  the  dark 
room.     We  had  each  taken  a  large  number  of  photographs 
during  the  past  month.     These  had  to  be  developed  before 
we  started  on  our  return  journey  to  Darjeeling,  and  this 
would  be   our  last   opportunity.     An   account   of   our  last 
month's  doings  and  our  final  reconnaissance  had  to  be  written 
out  for  The  Times,  and  this,  together  with  many  other  letters, 
had  to  be  sent  off  to  Phari  as  soon  as  possible.     Our  stores, 
tents,  Alpine  equipment,  had  all  to  be  collected  and  sorted 
out.     Lists  had  to  be  made  of  all  of  them,  and  most  of  them 
had  to  be  re-packed.     The  coolies  were  perpetually  worrying 
us  for  money  and  advances  of  pay  in  order  that  they  might 
be  able  to  buy  Tibetan  clothing,  or  have  money  which  they 
could  spend  on  drink  at  KJiarta,  where  it  was  apparently 
very  cheap.     Our  cook  and  most  of  the  coohes  used  constantly 
to  return  to  camp  in  the  evening  blind  drunk,  and  I  had  to 
see  that  the  cook  was  never  allowed  near  the  kitchen  under 
these  conditions.     On  such  an  occasion  my  servant.   Poo, 
would  have  to  do  the  cooking  in  his  place.     The  chang,  or 
barley  beer,  that  they  got  must  have  been  a  much  stronger 
brew  than  what  was  given  to  us,  as  what  we  had  did  not 

156 


THE  RETURN  JOURNEY  TO  PHARI    157 

appear  intoxicating  at  all,  but  the  interpreters  told  us  that 
cooUe  beer  was  double  strength. 

The  Jongpen  was  rather  sad  as  the  moment  of  our 
departure  drew  near.  We  invited  him  to  lunch  one  day, 
and  he  seemed  to  appreciate  the  beauties  of  Scotch  whisky, 
which  he  said  was  very  much  better  than  his  own  chang. 
We  had  to  pay  him  a  return  visit  the  following  day,  when 
he  gave  us  a  great  spread.  Knowing  that  we  were  anxious 
to  collect  such  curios  as  were  available,  he  produced  all 
kinds  of  things  for  our  inspection.  I  bought  from  him  a 
curious  old  Tibetan  musket,  elaborately  decorated  with 
silver,  and  fitted  with  a  pair  of  antelope  horns  on  which  to 
rest  it  when  firing.  Some  interesting  copper  and  silver 
teapots  we  were  also  able  to  get  from  him,  and  I  remember 
his  showing  Wollaston  many  pieces  of  finely  embroidered 
Chinese  silk.  Both  Hopaphema  and  the  Jongpen  had  a 
very  good  idea  of  the  value  of  money,  and  were  not  at  all 
afraid  of  asking  a  stiff  price  for  any  of  the  curios  which 
they  produced.  We  managed,  however,  to  pick  up  some 
interesting  Chinese  snuS  bottles  of  carved  agate,  some  with 
pictures  painted  inside.  Cliina  cups  of  the  Chienlung  and 
Kanghe  periods  we  were  also  able  to  get ;  there  were,  however, 
many  things  in  the  monasteries  which  we  rather  coveted, 
but  which  the  Lamas  would  not  sell.  Their  tables  were  very 
ornamentally  carved  with  dragons  and  weird  designs,  all 
painted  over  in  brilhant  colours.  The  Jongpen  had  one 
such  table,  but  unfortunately  I  found  out  that  he  had  only 
borrowed  it  from  the  nearest  monastery  for  the  purpose  of 
entertaining  us,  and  therefore  he  could  not  sell  it.  We  left 
behind  us  a  good  many  stores  which  it  was  not  worth  while 
to  bring  along.  Among  them  was  a  lot  of  acid  hypo-sulphite 
of  soda,  which  the  Jongpen  at  once  seized  upon,  and  which 
he  said  he  intended  to  make  use  of  in  washing  his  clothes, 
knowing  that  soda  was  used  occasionally  for  this  purpose.  The 
Jongpen,  of  whom  we  had  taken  many  photographs,  and 
who  had  seen  the  results,  was  anxious  to  buy  one  of  our 
cameras,  and  to  develop  and  print  everything  himself.     He 


158     THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE  EXPEDITION 

imagined  the  whole  process  was  very  easy,  and  was  extremely 
anxious  to  get  hold  of  one  of  the  Expedition's  cameras,  but 
we  had  to  disappoint  him  in  this.  Nothing  small  would 
content  him — he  wanted  the  biggest  of  the  lot,  and  was  quite 
willing  to  exchange  a  sword  or  any  other  weapon  for  a  camera. 
We,  however,  left  behind  with  him  three  pairs  of  skis,  which 
we  had  brought  out  with  us,  but  which  had  never  been 
unpacked.  These  skis  had  throughout  our  journeys  been 
looked  upon  by  the  Tibetans  with  the  greatest  interest. 
They  had  heard  about  flying  machmes,  and  they  thought 
that  these  were  the  framework  of  a  flying  machine  which 
we  had  brought  with  us,  and  on  which  we  intended  to 
fly  to  the  top  of  the  mountains.  Wherever  we  arrived 
there  was  always  a  great  crowd  assembled  round  these  skis, 
discussing  the  various  methods  by  which  they  could  be  put 
together  and  describing  how  the  white  man  would  then  fly. 
I  left  them  with  the  Jongpen  and  told  him  that  they  were 
very  good  exercise  for  him  in  the  winter  time,  when  the  snow 
was  deep,  and  that  if  he  wanted  to  reduce  his  weight,  which 
was  already  considerable,  there  could  be  no  better  method 
than  by  making  use  of  them  in  the  snow. 

At  last,  on  October  5,  we  managed  to  leave  Kharta. 
There  were  no  pack  animals  available  ;  we  had  therefore 
to  make  use  of  coolies  for  our  transport  for  the  first  march  ; 
it  took  140  of  them  to  carry  aU  our  loads.  For  some  time 
the  scene  of  confusion  was  very  amusing.  The  Jongpen 
himself  came  down,  and  it  was  only  owing  to  his  help  that 
by  mid-day  we  got  all  the  loads  sorted  out  and  put  on  the 
backs  of  the  coolies.  Before  he  was  able  to  do  this  he  had 
to  have  recourse  to  the  system  of  drawing  lots  by  putting 
garters  on  each  load,  a  system  which  I  have  aheady  described 
in  a  previous  chapter.  Before  we  left,  the  Jongpen  and 
Hopaphema  brought  us  presents  of  sheep  and  vegetables, 
and  they  and  all  the  people  of  the  valley  seemed  genuinely 
sorry  that  we  were  departing.  Throughout  our  long  stay 
at  Kharta  they  had  been  most  helpful  and  had  done  every- 
thing they  could  for  our  comfort.     They  were  both  of  them 


THE  RETURN  JOURNEY  TO  PHARI    159 

very  human,  with  a  dehghtful  sense  of  humour,  and  we 
quickly  became  great  friends.  It  was  with  much  regret  that 
we  turned  our  backs  on  Kharta. 

We  started  off  without  a  cloud  in  the  sky,  but  with  a 
strong  South  wind  blowing.  High  up  on  the  mountains  we 
could  see  the  snow  still  being  blown  off  in  white  clouds.  Our 
route  lay  up  the  valley  of  the  Bhong-chu  for  about  10  miles 
until  the  river  suddenly  turned  to  the  East  to  go  through  a 
deep  and  impassable  gorge.  We  had  then  to  follow  the 
valley  of  the  Zachar-chu  for  4  miles  to  Lumeh,  where  we 
camped  beside  the  great  poplar  trees.  The  bridge  by  which 
we  had  crossed  the  Zachar-chu  in  July  no  longer  existed. 
It  had  been  washed  away  in  August^  but  now  that  the  snows 
were  no  longer  melting  higher  up,  and  the  rainy  season  was 
over,  the  river  was  very  much  lower,  and  it  was  possible  to 
ford  it.  The  people  at  Lumeh  were  very  pleased  to  see  us 
again ;  we  found  tents  pitched  and  food  prepared  for  our 
reception.  From  here  there  were  two  routes  open  to  us. 
We  could  either,  by  crossing  two  passes,  drop  down  to  Tsogo 
in  the  valley  of  the  Bhong-chu,  and  after  fording  the  river 
there,  follow  our  previous  route  (of  the  outward  journey)  to 
Tingri,  or  we  could  cross  a  small  pass  just  above  Lumeh, 
meeting  the  Bhong-chu  again  immediately  above  the  gorge, 
where  there  was  a  bridge  across  it.  We  chose  the  latter 
route,  as  it  was  probably  a  couple  of  days  shorter  and  would 
take  us  through  new  country.  On  leaving  Lumeh,  for  the 
first  time  for  several  days  we  had  a  cloudy  morning,  which 
was  unfortunate,  as  from  the  top  of  the  Quiok  (Cuckoo  Pass) 
we  had  hoped  for  a  fine  view.  Our  transport  to-day  consisted 
of  yaks  and  donkeys,  which  came  along  very  well.  There 
was  a  steep  climb  of  2,000  feet  to  the  top  of  the  pass,  15,000 
feet,  where  we  just  managed  to  get  a  gUmpse  of  Makalu  in 
the  clouds,  but  Everest  was  hidden.  We  thought  that  this 
would  be  our  last  chance  of  a  view  of  the  Everest  and  Makalu 
group,  but  it  turned  out  not  to  be  so.  By  going  over  this  pass 
we  had  avoided  the  curious  and  impassable  gorge  by  which 
the   Bhong-chu   cuts  through  a   high   range  of   mountains. 


160     THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE  EXPEDITION 

It  was  only  a  little  over  6  miles  to  the  famous  rope  bridge 
at  Gadompa.  I  could  not  help  laughing  when  I  first  saw 
the  bridge.  It  was  such  a  comical,  ramshackle-looking 
affair,  and  everything  about  it  seemed  torn  and  ragged  and 
uneven.  Two  crooked  wooden  posts  set  up  in  piles  of  stones 
supported  the  ropes  of  raw  hide  which  spanned  the  river. 
During  the  rainy  season  one  of  these  posts  and  aU  the  ropes 
had  been  buried  deep  under  the  water,  but  now  that  the 
river  had  dropped  over  10  feet,  the  posts  were  out  of  the 
water.  Between  these  two  wooden  posts  were  three  raw 
hide  ropes,  very  frail  and  much  frayed,  and  looking  as  though 
they  might  break  at  any  moment.  On  these  ropes  was  laid 
a  semi-circular  piece  of  wood,  like  the  framework  of  a  saddle, 
to  which  were  attached  two  leather  thongs.  The  person 
or  bale  of  goods  that  had  to  be  puUed  across  was  tied  by 
these  two  thongs  to  the  framework,  and  this  was  allowed  to 
sHde  rapidly  with  its  load  down  to  the  point  at  which  the 
"  bridge  "  sagged  most — somewhere  about  the  middle  of 
the  river — which  here  rushed  along  in  a  formidable  rapid. 
If  the  Tibetans  on  the  far  side  failed  to  pull  up  the  passenger 
or  load  and  he  or  it  was  left  for  a  minute,  either  would  cer- 
tainly get  the  fuU  benefit  of  one  of  the  ice-cold  waves  of  the 
rapids  and  get  thoroughly  soaked  before  reaching  the  far 
side.  The  Tibetans  had  great  fun  mth  our  cooHes  in  transit, 
and  very  few  of  them  were  allowed  to  get  over  dry.  The 
villages  on  either  side  are  exempt  from  the  duty  of  producing 
transport,  and  have  instead  to  make  themselves  responsible 
for  working  the  bridge.  On  one  side  the  operators  were 
all  women  and  on  the  other  all  men.  It  took  an  average  of 
five  minutes  to  get  each  load  or  person  across,  and  we  spent 
twelve  hours  before  we  got  all  our  loads  over.  For  part  of 
the  time  I  superintended  while  Wheeler  went  to  get  some 
dinner,  and  after  dinner,  owing  to  there  being  a  certain 
amount  of  moonlight,  Wheeler  carried  on  until  the  last 
load  was  brought  over  at  midnight.  It  was  a  very  chiUy 
proceeding,  as  the  wind  blew  very  cold,  with  a  suspicion 
of  snow  every  now  and  then.     It  was  a  weird  experience  to 


THE   RETURN   JOURNEY   TO   PHARI  161 

see  the  loads  of  baggage  suddenly  appearing  out  of  the 
darkness  and  then  being  unloaded  and  transferred  to  the 
yaks,  who  apparently  were  able  to  find  their  way  about  in 
the  dark.  We  got  everything  over  in  safety  without  losing 
anything  except  a  few  eggs,  which  I  saw  drop  out  during 
the  passage  across,  and  I  felt  very  much  relieved  that  we 
had  had  no  accident. 

That  night  we  camped  in  a  pleasant  willow  grove  at  the 
village  of  Kharkhung.  In  the  morning  we  awoke  to  find 
fresh  snow  on  the  ground,  but  this  speedily  disappeared 
when  the  sun  came  out.  Our  new  transport  consisted  of 
donkeys  and  some  very  wild  yaks,  which  rapidly  got  rid 
of  their  loads.  The  march  was  only  a  short  one  of  about 
12  miles  up  the  valley  of  the  Bhong-chu.  The  valley  was 
uninteresting  and  stony,  with  practically  no  undergrowth, 
and  we  eventually  camped  in  a  windy  spot  near  the  village 
of  Lashar,  nearly  opposite  to  the  sandy  camp  at  Shiling 
where  we  had  halted  on  our  outward  journey  after  crossing 
the  quicksands.  The  night  proved  much  colder  here,  with 
18°  of  frost,  but  the  wind  luckily  died  do^Ti  and  the  next 
morning  was  beautiful.  We  continued  up  the  sandy  valley 
of  the  Bhong-chu,  which  is  here  several  miles  wide,  until 
we  came  to  its  junction  with  the  Yarn,  where  we  regained 
the  route  which  we  had  followed  on  the  outward  journey. 
Just  before  leaving  the  main  valley  we  found,  on  looking 
behind  us,  that  we  were  in  full  sight  of  Mount  Everest  and 
its  great  South-eastern  ridge,  and  also  of  the  Lhakpa  La 
where  we  had  camped.  This  was  our  final  view  of  Mount 
Everest,  and  knowing  the  geography  of  these  peaks  as  we 
now  did,  this  view  gave  us  an  added  interest  in  them.  We 
had  cHmbed  slowly  and  had  not  reahsed  the  great  height 
which  we  had  reached  or  the  conspicuous  position  of  our 
camp  on  the  Lhakpa  La  which  we  now  saw  sharply  defined 
against  the  horizon  from  a  distance  of  50  miles. 

We  rode  up  the  gorge  of  the  Yarn,  and  at  the  village  of 
Rongme  we  met  the  Phari  Jongpen's  brother.  He  was 
busy  collecting  the  harvest  rents,  which  are  a  fixed  percentage 

M.E.  M 


162     THE   NARRATIVE   OF   THE   EXPEDITION 

of  the  crops.     I  gave  him  some  of  the  photographs  that  I 
had  taken  of  him  and  his  house  on  the  way  up  and  very  soon 
after  a  big  crowd  collected  around.     The  Tibetans  are  very 
quick  at  recognising  persons  in  a  photograph,  and  they  at 
once  picked  out  all  the  people  by  name  in  a  group.     I  then  rode 
on  past  his  house  to  the  viUage  of  Shatog,  where  we  camped. 
On  the  way  I  shot  a  couple  of  snipe  and  also  saw  a  number 
of  teal,  wild  geese  and  kulan  (grey  crane),  but  they  were 
very  ^dld  and  I  could  not  get  near  enough  for  a  shot.     Heron 
joined  us  here.     He  had  been  exploring  some  of  the  valleys 
to  the  North,  but  had  found  nothing  interesting  or  remark- 
able, geologically,  and  he  accompanied  us  back  as  far  as 
Khamba  Dzong.     We  were  anxious  to  push  on  as  fast  as 
possible,  and  determined  to  do  a  double  march  from  here 
to  Tinld  Dzong,  which  our  transport  drivers  said  they  could 
do  quite  easily.     We  started  on  a  beautiful  day  after  a  sharp 
frost  at  night,  causing  many  of  the  ponds  to  be  frozen  over. 
We  crossed  the  broad  swampy  plain  to  Chushar.     Wheeler, 
going  on  ahead  at  first,  had  a  shot  at  some  geese,  but  did  not 
succeed  in  getting  anything.     We  crossed  the  Yaru  River 
by  a  very  deep  ford,  and  then  kept  along  the  North  side  of 
it,  past  numerous  ponds  on  which  were  swimming  many 
bar-headed  geese  ;  these  were,  however,  very  wily  and  would 
not  allow  us  to  approach  within  shot.     We  now  had  a  steep 
3,000-foot  climb  to  the  Tinki  Pass.     On  the  way  up  I  came 
across   some   partridges  ;     they   were   terrible   runners,   but 
after  a  good  chase  I  managed  to  collect  two.      They  turned 
out  to  be  the  ordinary  Tibetan  partridge  {Perdrix  hodgsonice). 
I  then  rode  on  down  to  Tinki,  to  which  place  I  had  sent  on 
Chheten  Wangdi  in   order  to  make  arrangements  for  our 
reception  and  to  have  transport  ready  for  us  on  the  following 
day.     The  two  Jongpens  rode  out  to  meet  us ;    the  elder 
of  the  two  had  been  at  Tinki  when  we  passed  through  on 
the  way  out,  but  the  other  one  I  had  not  seen  before  as  he 
had  been  away.     I  had  very  pleasant  recollections  of  our 
reception  there  before,  and  was  delighted  to  see  the  elder 
Jongpen,  who  was  a  most  pleasant  and  agreeable  gentleman. 


THE  RETURN  JOURNEY  TO  PHARI    163 

They  presented  us  with  a  couple  of  hundred  eggs,  rice  and 
some  grain  for  the  ponies,  and  had  tents  already  pitched  for 
us  under  the  walls  of  the  fort.  Here  the  Jongpens  came 
and  sat  talking  with  us  for  a  long  time.  Our  transport 
showed  no  signs  of  turning  up,  so  we  were  very  glad  to  make 
our  dinner  off  the  rice  and  eggs  that  had  been  given  us. 
The  bulk  of  the  transport  did  not  arrive  till  midnight.  They 
had  made  every  effort  to  stop  at  Chushar,  and  it  was  with 
great  difficulty  that  Gyalzen  Kazi  had  induced  them  to  go 
on.  The  animal  which  was  carrying  Wheeler's  kit  died  on 
the  way,  and  his  bedding  did  not  arrive  till  noon  the  follo\\dng 
day,  another  animal  having  been  sent  to  bring  it  in.  I  had 
had  my  maximum  and  minimum  thermometers  exposed  as 
usual  under  the  fly  of  my  tent,  but  during  the  night  some 
wretch  came  and  stole  them.  What  good  they  could  have 
been  to  him  I  cannot  imagine,  but  it  was  very  annoying 
and  I  hope  he  will  drink  the  mercury.  The  weather  had 
now  changed  again  for  the  worse :  all  day  there  were  heavy 
snow  showers  with  snow  falling  on  the  mountains  around 
and  preventing  any  views.  The  march  was  only  a  short 
one  to  Lingga.  The  wild  birds  in  the  lake  beside  the 
fort  were  as  tame  as  ever,  the  Brahminy  ducks  (ruddy 
sheldrake)  almost  waddling  into  our  tents  and  not  paying 
the  sUghtest  attention  to  us.  On  the  water  were  swimming 
about  thousands  of  duck,  bar-headed  geese  and  teal  which 
the  Jongpen's  little  dog  used  to  have  great  fun  in  chasing. 
We  were  not  able  to  follow  our  former  route  from  Tinki  to 
Lingga  as  the  country  had  altered  considerably.  Most  of 
the  plain  was  now  a  broad  lake  several  miles  long,  and  we 
had  to  follow  the  North  side  of  the  water  along  the  foot  of 
the  hills.  On  these  big  lakes  were  many  duck,  but  they 
were  very  wild.  I  managed  on  the  way,  however,  to  shoot 
two  bar-headed  geese,  a  couple  of  Gargany  teal  and  a  pochard, 
which  proved  a  very  welcome  addition  to  our  bill  of  fare. 
One  shot  was  a  most  extraordinary  one.  I  was  stalkmg  some 
geese  which  were  getting  very  restless  and  starting  to  fly 
away,  when  just  in  front  of  me  got  up  two  teal  close  together. 


164     THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE  EXPEDITION 

I  fired  at  the  teal  and  both  fell  to  my  shot,  and  at  the  same 
time,  to  my  great  surprise,  a  goose,  which  was  in  the  direct 
line  of  fire,  and  about  40  yards  away,  also  fell. 

We  found  the  people  at  Lingga  busy  thrashing.  The 
thrashing  time  in  Tibet  is  a  favourite  one  for  drinking,  and 
often  the  whole  village  after  a  day's  harvest  will  be  com- 
pletely incapacitated  as  the  result  of  too  great  an  indulgence 
in  chang.  Their  thrashing  floors  consist  of  an  area  of  about 
half  an  acre  of  hard  beaten  earth  on  which  the  barley  is 
spread  to  a  depth  of  6  to  8  inches.  Fifty  or  sixty  yaks  are 
then  driven  into  this  enclosure,  followed  by  thirty  people 
or  more,  beating  drums,  rattling  kerosene  oil  tins,  ringing 
bells  and  shouting  and  yelling  in  order  to  frighten  the  yaks, 
who,  tail  in  air,  are  driven  backwards  and  forwards  over 
the  barley.  This  they  continue  doing  until  every  one  is 
tired  and  hoarse,  when  the  whole  of  the  workers,  both  male 
and  female,  adjourn  for  a  long  drink  of  beer,  after  which 
the  same  process  is  repeated. 

On  October  11  we  arrived  at  Khamba  Dzong.  We  were 
having  sharp  frosts  now  every  night,  and  the  mountains, 
both  to  the  North  and  South  of  us,  were  covered  low  down 
with  a  thick  white  coating  of  snow.  It  was  not,  however, 
unpleasantly  cold,  and  the  cloud  effects  were  very  beautiful. 
On  the  way  I  shot  two  goa — Tibetan  gazeUe — with  good 
heads,  and  horns  over  14  inches  long.  We  had  to  halt  here 
in  order  to  rest  our  coolies.  All  day  to  the  South  there  was 
a  furious  storm  raging  along  the  Himalayas,  and  when  it 
cleared  up  in  the  evening  there  had  evidently  been  a  heavy 
snowfaU.  In  the  course  of  the  afternoon  we  put  up  over 
Dr.  Kellas's  grave  the  stone  which  the  Jongpen  had  had 
engraved  for  us  during  our  absence.  On  it  were  inscribed 
in  English  and  Tibetan  characters  his  initials  and  the  date 
of  his  death,  and  this  marks  his  last  resting-place. 

Raeburn,  Wheeler  and  Heron  now  left  us,  as  they  wanted 
to  return  to  Darjeeling  by  the  short  way  over  the  Serpo  La 
and  down  the  Teesta  Valley.  This  route  is  only  possible 
for  small  parties ;     with  all  our  transport  we  were  unable 


THE  RETURN  JOURNEY  TO  PHARI    165 

to  return  that  way  as  the  villages  on  the  way  and  in 
the  Teesta  Valley  are  small  and  can  supply  but  very  few 
animals  or  coolies.  Wollaston  and  I  had  therefore  to  return 
to  Phari  and  then  to  follow  the  main  trade  route,  along 
which  it  is  always  possible  to  pick  up  any  amount  of  hired 
transport.  We  left  Khamba  Dzong  on  October  13  in  20°  of 
frost.  Kanchenjunga  and  the  Everest  group  were  just 
visible,  but  ominous  clouds  were  rapidly  coming  up.  Our  march 
was  the  same  as  on  the  outward  journey  to  Tatsang  (Falcon's 
Nest) — a  distance  of  about  21  miles.  We  rode  through  the 
fine  limestone  gorge  behind  the  fort,  shooting  on  the  way 
several  Tibetan  partridge  {Perdrix  hodgsonice).  On  reaching 
the  top  of  the  pass,  I  climbed  another  thousand  feet  on  to 
the  ridge  to  the  South  of  the  pass,  where  I  had  a  wonderful 
panorama  of  snowy  peaks,  both  to  the  South  and  to  the 
North.  Snow  storms  appeared  to  be  raging  on  either  side 
and  the  wind  was  extremely  cold.  I  came  across  a  fine  flock 
of  burhel  {Ovis  nahura),  and  had  an  easy  shot  at  a  fine  ram, 
but  missed  him  hopelessly,  and  they  never  gave  me  another 
chance.  A  little  further  on  I  missed  a  gazelle.  On  the 
plain  below  were  grazing  numerous  kiang  {Equus  hemionus), 
their  reddish- chestnut  coats  being  well  shown  off  by  their 
white  bellies  and  legs.  Their  mane  appears  to  be  of  a 
darker  colour,  which  is  continued  as  a  narrow  stripe  down 
the  back.  On  the  same  plain  I  cculd  see  also  a  large  flock 
of  nyan  {Ovis  Tiodgsoni),  all  fair-sized  rams.  I  had  a  long 
chase  after  the  latter,  but  they  never  allowed  me  to  approach 
close  to  them.  Snow  began  to  fall  now  and  a  regular 
blizzard  set  in,  the  fine  powdery  snow  being  blown  along 
the  ground  into  our  faces.  While  riding  along  in  this  storm,  I 
saw  two  fine  nyan  which  I  stalked.  My  2-75  rifle  was  rather 
smaU  for  such  a  large  animal,  and  though  the  larger  of  the 
two  was  badly  hit  by  the  first  shot,  he  went  off  as  though 
he  were  untouched  and  gave  me  a  long  chase  after  him. 
It  was  only  possible  to  get  a  glimpse  of  him  every  now  and 
then  in  the  bHzzard,  and  whenever  I  lay  down  to  try  and 
get  a  shot,  the  fine  powdery  snow  blown  along  the  surface 


166     THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE  EXPEDITION 

of  the  ground  nearly  blinded  me,  so  that  it  took  five  more 
buUets  before  he  finally  expired.  He  was  a  magnificent 
old  beast  with  a  grand  head  and  horns,  well  over  40  inches 
in  length  and  of  great  thickness.  The  weight  of  the  body 
was  enormous.  I  had  only  Aug  Tenze  with  me.  With  much 
difficulty  we  cut  off  the  nyan's  head  and  then  tried  to  lift 
the  carcass,  which  must  have  weighed  well  over  200  lb., 
on  to  one  of  the  ponies.  With  the  greatest  trouble  we 
eventually  managed  to  get  the  carcass  on  to  the  pony's  back, 
but  the  pony  seemed  gradually  to  subside  on  to  the  ground 
under  the  weight  and  was  quite  unable  to  move.  While 
we  were  doing  this,  my  pony  took  it  into  his  head  to  run 
away,  and  though  we  made  every  attempt,  to  catch  him, 
he  completely  defeated  us,  and  was  last  seen  galloping  away 
towards  his  home.  I  had  therefore  an  8  mile  trudge  through 
the  snow  to  get  back  to  camp,  not  arriving  there  till  well 
after  dark.  Five  of  the  coolies  went  back  after  dark  to  get 
the  meat.  They  cut  off  as  much  as  they  could  carry,  and 
the  remainder  had  to  be  left  for  the  nuns,  who  sent  out  their 
servants  to  bring  it  in.  I  was  cheered  up,  however,  by 
getting  an  English  mail  and  many  letters.  Among  these 
was  one  from  Sir  Charles  Bell  from  Lhasa,  who  wrote  to 
ask  the  Expedition  not  to  do  any  more  shooting  in  Tibet, 
as  the  Tibetans  did  not  approve  of  it ;  for  the  remainder  of 
the  time,  therefore,  the  guns  had  to  be  put  away. 

During  the  night  there  were  32°  of  frost,  and  everything 
inside  our  tents  was  frozen  solid  in  the  morning  ;  but  the 
wind  luckily  died  down,  and  the  next  day  was  a  most  beautiful 
one.  We  knew  that  there  was  a  long  march  before  us,  so 
our  transport  was  off  by  eight  o'clock.  At  Tatsang  we 
were  already  16,000  feet,  and  we  gradually  climbed  higher, 
spending  most  of  the  day  between  17,000  and  18,000  feet. 
For  several  miles  we  rode  across  a  snow-covered  plain  over 
which  the  tops  of  Pawhunri,  Chomiomo,  and  Kanchenjhow 
appeared  to  the  South.  As  we  rose  higher,  the  snow  gradually 
deepened  to  6  inches  and  made  the  going  very  heavy.  We 
had  to  cross   three  spurs   of   Pawhunri   by  passes  of   over 


THE   RETURN  JOURNEY   TO   PHARI  167 

17,500  feet.  Here  the  snow  had  been  blown  by  the  wind  into 
drifts  over  2  feet  deep.  We  had  arranged  to  camp  at  a  place 
called  Lunghi,  but  on  our  arrival  there  found  that  the 
nomads,  who  ordinarily  spent  the  summer  there,  had  already 
left  and  were  encamped  some  4  miles  further  down  the  valley. 
In  a  side  valley  I  found  some  of  their  tents  where  I  was  able 
to  warm  myself  and  get  some  hot  milk  before  moving  on 
down  the  valley,  where  we  were  told  that  preparations  had 
been  made  to  receive  us.  There  was  luckily  a  bright  moon 
and  we  rode  on  down  to  the  spot,  where  we  found  some 
Tibetan  tents  which  had  been  pitched  for  us  ;  their  owners 
had,  moreover,  had  the  forethought  to  have  great  braziers 
of  cow  dung  burnmg  in  these  tents.  The  smell  was  not 
agreeable,  but  we  sat  and  warmed  ourselves,  waiting  for 
our  transport,  which  did  not  arrive  until  eleven  o'clock  that 
night.  It  was  a  bitterly  cold  wait,  as  the  wind  got  up  and 
blew  down  the  valley  with  25°  of  frost  behind  it.  We  were 
very  glad  to  see  our  transport  and  coolies  when  they  arrived  ; 
they  had  really  come  along  very  well,  as  a  march  of  23  miles 
in  soft  snow  and  at  a  great  height  all  the  time  is  no  light 
feat. 

Breakfast  the  next  morning  was  very  comfortless,  as 
the  wind  was  still  blowing  with  28°  of  frost,  and  everything 
— boots  and  foodstuffs  of  all  kinds — ^was  frozen  inside  our 
tents.  We  looked  forward  with  no  little  pleasure  to  finding 
ourselves  inside  once  more  and  sitting  in  front  of  a  fire  out 
of  the  everlasting  wind  which  makes  Tibet  so  trying.  The 
march  was  a  fairly  easy  one  of  about  20  miles  over  gentle 
undulating  country  until  we  reached  the  West  side  of  the 
Tang  La  ;  there  was,  however,  a  bitterly  cold  strong  South 
wind  which  blew  with  great  violence  all  day  and  penetrated 
through  everything.  Many  of  our  coolies  had  much  difficulty 
in  coming  along,  as  they  were  suffering  from  snow  blinchiess 
and  their  feet  were  also  very  tender  from  the  cold  and  the 
deep  snow  of  the  last  few  days.  Chomolhari  was  a  glorious 
sight  all  the  way.  We  were  gradually  approaching  it,  and 
it  seemed  to  rise  directly  from  the  plain  in  front  of  us.     From 


168     THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE  EXPEDITION 

its  summit  and  from  its  ridges  great  streamers  of  snow  were 
being  blown  off  and  the  gale — apparently  from  the  North- 
west— still  continued.  Nearly  every  day  since  we  left  Kharta 
we  saw  along  the  higher  peaks  of  the  Himalayas  the  snow 
being  blown  off  in  great  wisps,  showing  that  a  strong  North- 
westerly current  of  air  sets  in  at  great  heights  after  the 
monsoon  is  over.  After  reaching  Darjeeling  we  noticed  the 
same  thing  ;  every  day,  from  Kanchenjunga  and  Kabru, 
could  be  seen  the  same  great  wisps  of  wind-blown  snow. 
That  night  at  Phari  we  were  once  more  in  a  bungalow  and 
out  of  the  wind,  and  able  to  spend  a  very  comfortable  and 
pleasant  evening  reading  our  letters  and  papers  in  front  of 
a  fire  which,  though  still  mostly  yak  dung,  was  in  a  fireplace. 
October  16  we  spent  resting  at  Phari.  Our  coolies  were 
much  exhausted  by  the  three  days'  march  from  Khamba 
Dzong,  in  which  we  had  covered  65  miles,  most  of  the  time 
at  considerable  heights  and  in  deep  snow.  We  had  returned 
by  the  short  way,  which  the  people  of  Phari  had  told  us  in 
the  spring  was  impassable,  and  over  which  they  would  not 
go,  sending  us  instead  around  by  the  long  way  to  Dochen, 
which  took  us  six  days  instead  of  three. 

Phari  is  a  place  unfortunately  too  near  civilisation.  The 
Tibetans  there  have  lost  their  good  manners,  such  as  we 
had  been  accustomed  to  meet  in  the  more  distant  and  out- 
of-the-way  parts  of  the  country.  Much  trade  passes  through 
the  town,  and  the  people  there  are  too  weU  off.  They  had 
an  idea  that  the  Expedition  was  a  kind  of  milch  cow  out  of 
which  money  could  be  extracted  to  their  hearts'  content. 
Of  this  view  we  had  to  disabuse  them,  and  in  consequence 
found  them  all  very  tiresome.  The  transport  turned  up 
the  following  morning,  but  they  refused  to  load  up  unless  they 
were  paid  in  full  beforehand  and  at  a  most  exorbitant  rate. 
This  I  refused  to  do,  telephoning  at  the  same  time  to 
the  trade  agent  at  Yatung.  I  sent  for  the  Jongpen,  and 
both  Jongpens  turned  up.  I  rather  imagine  that  they  were 
at  the  bottom  of  this  trouble,  for  one  of  them  owed  the 
Expedition  some  money  ;    he  had  also,  when  forwarding  on 


THE  RETURN  JOURNEY   TO  PHARI         169 

stores  to  us,  seized  the  opportunity  to  charge  five  times  the 
ordinary  rate,  on  the  pretext  that  he  had  supphed  some  of 
his  own  mules.  After  long  arguments  I  eventually  induced 
them  to  accept  part  of  the  payment,  the  remainder  to  be 
paid  at  Yatung,  whereupon  the  Jongpens  gave  orders  for 
the  animals  to  be  loaded.  It  was  not,  however,  until  the 
afternoon  that  we  were  able  to  leave  Phari  and  to  start  on 
our  downward  march  to  Yatung. 


CHAPTER  XI 
BACK  TO   CIVILISATION 

When  we  turned  onr  backs  on  Phari  and  started  to 
march  down  the  Chumbi  Valley,  we  had  left  the  real  Tibet 
behind  us.  I  could  not  somehow  look  upon  the  Chumbi 
Valley  as  being  a  part  of  Tibet.  Its  characteristics,  its 
houses,  its  people,  its  vegetation,  are  all  so  different  from 
the  greater  part  of  Tibet.  There  are  not  the  same  cold 
winds  that  freeze  the  very  marrow,  nor  are  there  the 
wide  plains  and  the  undulating  hills  with  their  extensive 
views. 

In  spite  of  all  discomforts,  there  is  a  very  great  charm 
and  fascination  about  travelling  in  Tibet.  Is  it  partly 
because  it  is  an  unlmown  country,  and  the  unknown  is  always 
fascinating,  or  is  it  rather  because  of  the  innate  beauty  of 
the  country  itself,  with  its  landscapes  so  free  from  all  restraint 
and  a  horizon  often  150  to  200  miles  distant  ?  Never 
anywhere  have  I  seen  a  country  so  full  of  colour  as  is  Tibet. 
There  is  not  enough  vegetation  to  hide  the  rocks  and  the 
stones.  The  foreground  as  well  as  the  distant  view  is 
wonderfully  full  of  colour  and  variety.  Contrasts  are  one 
of  the  charms  of  life,  and  probably  in  this  lies  the  secret 
of  the  charm  and  attractiveness  of  Tibet.  It  is  essentially 
a  country  of  contrasts.  The  climate,  above  all,  has  contrasts 
of  its  own.  The  sun  is  burningly  hot,  but  in  the  shade  the 
cold  may  be  intense.  To  such  a  pitch  can  the  extremes 
of  heat  and  cold  arrive,  that  a  man  may  suffer  from  sunstroke 
and  frost-bite  at  one  and  the  same  time. 

The  Tibetans  themselves  are  a  strong,  well-built  and 
hardy  race — Mongolian  in  type.  The  women  usually  put 
a  mixture  of  grease  and  soot  on  their  faces  to  protect  them 

170 


BACK  TO   CIVILISATION  171 

against  the  glare  of  the  fresh  snow  or  the  biting  winds,  for 
even  they,  with  their  thick  skins,  do  not  seem  to  get  used 
to  the  severity  of  the  changes.  How  much  more  does  the 
European  suffer  when  he  travels  in  Tibet  and  seems  to  need 
a  fresh  skin  almost  every  day.  The  soot  mixture  does  not 
add  to  the  beauty  of  the  women,  though  I  came  across  some 
who  were  not  bad  looking.  Many  of  the  people  are  nomads, 
living  in  tents  all  the  year  round  and  moving  about  from 
camj)  to  camp  pasturing  their  herds  of  yaks  and  their  flocks 
of  sheep.  It  is  curious  that  even  in  the  winter-time  they 
can  find  grazing  places,  but  the  secret  lies  in  the  fact  that 
the  slopes  face  the  South  in  the  regions  where  the  wind 
blows  strongest,  so  that  the  surface  is  usually  bare.  The 
snowfall  in  winter  in  most  parts  of  Tibet  is  not  heavy,  and 
the  climate  being  so  dry,  the  snow  is  powdery,  and  the  wind 
blows  it  along  and  forms  great  drifts  in  the  hollows,  leaving 
the  exposed  slopes  usually  clear.  On  these  the  herds,  or 
flocks  of  sheep,  obtain  sufficient  nourishment  from  such 
scattered  patches  of  frozen  grass  or  lichens  as  they  are  able 
to  find.  Of  all  the  animals  that  the  Tibetans  have,  the 
yak  is  the  most  useful.  His  long  black  hair,  which  reaches 
to  the  ground  under  his  belly,  is  woven  into  tents  or  ropes. 
The  milk,  after  they  have  drunk  what  they  want,  is  turned 
into  butter  and  cheese,  of  which  they  produce  great 
quantities.  When  old,  he  is  killed  and  his  flesh  is  dried, 
providing  meat  for  a  long  time.  His  hide  supplies  leather 
of  every  kind.  It  is  always  used  untanned,  for  no  tamiing 
is  ever  done  in  Tibet  and  any  tanned  skins  always  come 
up  from  India.  The  yak  dung  is  in  many  places  the  only 
fuel  to  be  got  and  is  most  carefully  picked  up.  To  the  present 
generation  of  young  children  the  yak  is  probably  famihar 
from  that  delightful  rhyme  in  "  The  Bad  Child's  Book  of 
Beasts  "  : — 

As  a  friend  to  the  children,  commend  me  the  Yak — 

You  will  find  it  exactly  the  thing  ; 
It  will  carry  and  fetch,  j^ou  can  ride  on  its  back 

Or  lead  it  about  with  a  string. 


172     THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE  EXPEDITION 

The  Tartar  who  dwells  on  the  plains  of  Tibet, 

A  desolate  region  of  snow, 
Has  for  centuries  made  it  a  nursery  pet, 

And  surely  the  Tartar  should  know. 

Then  tell  your  papa  where  the  Yak  can  be  got, 

And  if  he  is  awfully  rich, 
He  will  buy  you  the  creature — or  else  he  will  not  ; 

I  cannot  be  positive  which. 

The  traveller  in  Tibet  can  easily  live  on  such  supplies 
as  can  be  drawn  from  the  country.  The  Tibetan  is  always 
hospitable  and  will  provide  sheep,  milk,  cheese  and  butter 
almost  everywhere.  Vegetables,  however,  of  any  kind  are 
very  scarce,  though  in  the  summer  a  species  of  spinach  can 
be  got  in  some  places.  Living,  as  the  Tibetans  do,  far  away 
from  aU  outside  influences,  their  customs  and  manners  have 
not  changed,  and  are  the  same  as  they  were  several  hundred 
years  ago.  I  can  fuUy  sympathise  with  their  present  desire 
for  seclusion  and  their  eagerness  not  to  be  exploited  by 
foreigners.  They  sent  a  few  years  ago  some  young  Tibetan 
boys  to  Rugby  to  be  educated  in  different  professions.  These 
boys  have  now  returned  again  to  Lhasa,  and  with  their  aid, 
and  with  the  aid  of  others  who  are  being  sent  out  into  the 
world  to  learn,  they  hope  to  be  able  to  develop  the  resources 
of  their  own  country  at  leisure,  in  their  own  way,  and 
by  themselves,  without  being  exploited  commercially  by 
foreigners. 

The  staple  food  of  the  Tibetans  is  tsampa  (parched 
barley).  This  is  ground  up  and  either  milk  or  tea  is  added, 
forming  it  into  a  kind  of  dough.  This  is  put  in  a  little  bag, 
which  they  carry  about  with  them  when  traveUing,  and 
is  often  their  only  food  for  several  days.  Tsampa  can  be 
obtained  everywhere  in  Tibet,  though  it  is  easier  to  get  it 
in  the  villages  than  from  the  tents  of  the  nomads.  Tea 
car,  of  course,  be  obtained  everywhere,  and,  as  I  have 
described  before,  is  mixed  with  salt  and  butter,  churned 
up  with  great  violence,  and  then  poured  into  teapots.  At 
every  camp,  and  at  every  house,  will  be  met  fierce  dogs. 


BACK  TO  CIVILISATION  173 

These  dogs  guard  the  flocks,  or  the  nomad  camps,  and  rather 
resemble  large  collies  ;  as  a  rule,  they  are  black  and  very 
fierce.  The  Tibetans  were,  however,  always  very  good 
in  tying  them  up  before  we  approached  their  camps.  In 
many  of  the  houses  we  found  tied  up  just  outside  the  door 
another  kind  of  dog,  a  huge  brute  of  the  mastiff  type,  always 
extremely  savage  and  ready,  if  he  had  not  been  tied  up, 
to  tear  the  intruder  to  pieces.  The  peasants  are  still  treated 
as  serfs,  though  only  in  a  mild  form.  For  aU  Government 
officials,  when  on  tour,  they  have  to  supply  free  transport 
and  supplies  of  aU  Idnds,  so  that  official  visits  are  not  popular. 
At  first  the  villagers  were  afraid  that  we  might  follow  the 
example  of  the  Tibetan  officials  and  were  much  reUeved 
to  find  that  we  did  not  do  so. 

I  cannot  leave  the  subject  of  Tibet  without  a  few  words 
about  the  monasteries.  These  are  divided  into  two  great 
schools,  the  Red  Cap  School  and  the  Yellow  Cap  School. 
The  former  was  founded  by  the  Buddhist  Saint,  Padma 
Sambhava  or  Guru  Rimpoche,  in  a.d.  749.  They  are  the 
older  of  the  two  monastic  sects,  but  their  morals  are  much 
looser  than  those  of  the  Yellow  Sect,  and  the  Lamas  or  monks 
of  this  sect  are  often  married.  In  one  monastery  belonging 
to  the  Red  Sect  near  Kharta,  the  Lamas  and  their  wives 
were  all  living  together.  The  YeUow  Cap,  or  Gelukpa  Sect, 
was  founded  in  the  fifteenth  century  by  Tsong  Kapa,  who 
instituted  a  very  much  stricter  moral  code,  and  this  sect 
looks  down  very  much  upon  the  Red  Caps.  The  State 
religion  of  the  country  is  Buddhism.  By  the  middle  of 
the  seventeenth  century,  after  a  series  of  reincarnations, 
Nawang  Lobsang  had  made  himseK  master  of  Tibet  and 
transferred  his  capital  to  Lhasa.  He  accepted  the  title  of 
Dalai  Lama  (Ocean  of  Learning)  from  the  Chinese,  hence 
the  Dalai  Lama  at  Lhasa,  by  this  doctrine  of  political 
reincarnation,  has  absorbed  all  the  political  power  in  the 
country  into  his  own  hands,  although  the  Tashi  Lama  at 
Tashilumpo  is  in  theory  his  senior  and  superior  in  spiritual 
matters.     The  old  simple  creed  of  the  Buddhists  can  scarcely 


174     THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE  EXPEDITION 

be  recognised  nowadays  and  is  overlaid  with  devil  worship 
in  all  its  forms,  supernatural  agencies  abounding  everywhere. 
The  top  of  a  pass,  a  mountain,  a  river,  a  bridge,  a  storm  ; 
each  will  have  its  own  particular  god  who  is  to  be  worshipped 
and  propitiated.  In  many  of  the  larger  monasteries,  too, 
they  have  oracles  who  are  consulted  far  and  wide  and  supposed 
to  be  able  to  foretell  the  future.  These  often  acquire 
considerable  power  and  influence  by  methods  not  unlike 
those  resorted  to  in  ancient  Greece.  It  has  been  estimated 
that  a  fifth  of  the  whole  population  of  Tibet  has  entered 
monastic  life.  The  conditions  probably  much  resemble 
those  which  prevailed  in  mediaeval  Europe.  The  monasteries 
contain  nearly  aU  the  riches  of  the  country.  They  own 
large  estates  ;  they  are  the  source  of  all  learning,  and  aU 
the  arts  and  crafts  seem  to  take  their  inspiration  from 
articles  for  use  in  the  monasteries.  The  ordinary  Tibetan, 
surrounded  as  he  is  by  the  various  spirits  which  occupy 
every  valley  and  mountain  top,  is  very  superstitious.  He 
therefore  has  inside  his  house  his  prayer  wheel  and  his  little 
shrine,  before  which  he  offers  up  incense  daily.  His  Mani  walls 
or  mendongs,  covered  with  inscribed  stones  or  carved  figures 
of  Buddha,  are  alongside  the  paths  he  daily  uses  ;  on  the 
top  of  the  mountains  or  passes,  in  addition  to  these  prayer- 
covered  stones,  flutter  rags  printed  over  with  prayers.  All 
these  are  intended  to  propitiate  the  evil  spirits.  In  places 
where  there  are  particularly  malignant  devils,  it  may  be 
necessary  to  build  several  Chortens  in  order  to  keep  them 
in  subjection,  and  these  Chortens  are  filled  with  several 
thousands  of  prayers  and  sacred  figures  stamped  in  the  clay. 
The  country  is  divided  up  into  districts,  each  under  its 
own  Jongpen,  who  is  responsible  direct  to  Lhasa  or  Shigatse 
and  has  yearly  to  send  the  revenue  collected  to  headquarters. 
A  certain  percentage  of  the  crops  is  collected  every  year, 
and  in  a  year  of  good  harvest  the  Jongpen  is  able  to  make 
a  certain  amount  of  money  for  himself  in  addition  to  what 
he  has  to  send  to  Lhasa.  Our  visit  to  the  Kharta  Valley 
was  an  unexpected  windfall  for  the  Kharta  Jongpen,  as  I 


BACK  TO  CIVILISATION  175 

fancy  that  much  of  the  money  that  we  paid  out  to  the  different 
villages  for  supplies  or  coolie  hire  eventually  found  its  way 
into  his  pocket  and  was  not  likely  to  find  its  way  to  Lhasa. 
This  may  possibly  have  accounted  for  his  pleasure  in 
entertaining  us  and  his  desire  to  keep  us  there  as  long  as 
possible.  The  Tibetans,  however,  everywhere  have  good 
manners  and  are  invariably  most  polite — a  pleasant 
characteristic.  Although  they  are  all  Buddhists,  and 
accordingly  object  to  the  taking  of  life,  they  do  not  in  the 
least  mind  killing  their  sheep  or  their  yaks  for  food,  but 
they  objected  to  our  shooting  wild  sheep  or  gazelles  or  wild 
birds  for  food.  I  could  have  understood  this  objection 
better  had  they  been  vegetarians  and  not  killed  their  sheep 
for  eating  purposes,  but  a  real  vegetarian,  except  in  the 
strictest  monasteries,  is  very  rare  in  Tibet. 

There  was  a  great  fascination  in  roaming  through  the 
country  as  we  did.  It  was  the  fascination  of  the  unknown, 
this  travelling  in  regions  where  Europeans  had  never  travelled 
before,  and  where  they  had  never  even  been  seen.  The 
people  had  exaggerated  notions  of  our  ferocity,  and  were 
full  of  fears  as  to  what  we  might  be  like  and  as  to  what  we 
might  do.  In  these  out-of-the-way  parts  they  had  heard 
vaguely  of  the  fighting  in  1904,  and  they  imagined  that  our 
visit  might  be  on  the  same  lines.  They  imagined,  too, 
that  all  Europeans  were  cruel  and  seized  what  they  wanted 
without  payment.  They  were  therefore  much  surprised 
when  they  found  that  we  treated  them  fairly  and  paid  for 
everything  that  we  wanted  at  very  good  rates.  The 
Expedition  may,  I  venture  to  think,  take  credit  to  itself  for 
having  certainly  done  a  great  deal  of  good  in  promoting 
more  friendly  relations  between  the  Tibetans  and  ourselves, 
and  in  giving  them  a  better  understanding  of  what  an 
Englishman  is.  Their  ignorance  of  the  outside  world  was 
at  times  astounding.  Tibetan  officials  and  traders  were 
an  exception,  but  it  was  seldom  that  the  ordinary  Tibetan 
ever  left  the  valley  in  which  he  was  born  and  bred,  with  the 
result  that  except  for  the  wildest  rumours,  they  knew  nothing 


176     THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE   EXPEDITION 

of  the  outside  world.  For  long-distance  journeys,  the 
Tibetans  used  ambling  mules  or  ponies,  which  were  capable 
of  going  long  distances  and  keeping  up  a  speed  of  about 
5  miles  an  hour.  To  our  idea,  the  Tibetan  saddle  with  its 
high  wooden  framework  is  very  uncomfortable,  but  on  the 
top  of  thgir  saddles  they  would  put  their  bedding,  spreading 
over  it  a  brilliant  and  often  beautifully  coloured  carpet  as  a 
saddle  cloth.  On  the  top  of  this  the  rider  would  sit  perched, 
and,  with  a  good  ambling  pony,  could  get  along  very 
comfortably. 

I  always  enjoyed  travelling  and  moving  about  in  Tibet. 
It  hardly  has  the  climate  of  Tennyson's  Island  Valley  of 
AviHon — ^"  Where  faUs  not  hail  or  rain  or  snow,  nor  ever 
wind  blows  loudly  " — for  we  used  to  get  samples  of  nearly 
aU  of  these  almost  every  day.  But  no  matter  how  barren 
nor  how  bare  the  immediate  surroundings  were  there  was  a 
sense  of  exhilaration  and  freedom  in  the  air.  There  was 
never  a  sense  of  being  confined  in  a  narrow  space.  There 
was  always  some  distant  view  where  the  colours  would  be 
continually  changing.  In  the  summer-time  the  cHmate 
was  not  unpleasant,  and  there  was  always  the  pleasure  of 
finding  some  new  and  beautiful  flower,  oftentimes  springing 
up  out  of  the  driest  sand.  Wherever  there  was  water,  there 
was  sure  to  be  vegetation  and  many  bright- coloured  flowers 
with  every  kind  of  wild-bird  life.  The  shriU  whistle  of  the 
marmot  would  often  alone  break  the  silence  of  the  scene. 
Animal  life  in  some  form  was  almost  always  visible,  whether 
it  was  the  wild  kiang  roaming  on  the  plains,  or  the  gazelle, 
or  the  wild  sheep,  there  was  always  something  of  interest 
to  watch.  The  little  mouse  hares  which  lived  in  great  colonies 
would  constantly  dodge  in  and  out  of  their  holes  and  the 
song  of  the  larks  could  always  be  heard. 

By  the  end  of  October  the  climate  was  beginning  to  get 
very  cold,  the  thermometer  descending  at  times  to  Zero 
Fahrenheit,  so  that  we  were  quite  ready  to  leave  the  country, 
being  anxious  to  get  warm  again,  if  only  for  a  short  time. 
There  was  sorrow  in  our  hearts,  however,  at  parting  with 


BACK  TO   CIVILISATION  177 

the  friendly  and  hospitable  folk  whom  we  had  encountered, 
and  at  leaving  behind  us  the  famihar  landscapes  with  the 
transparent  pale  blue  atmosphere  that  is  so  hard  to  describe, 
and  the  distant  views  of  range  upon  range  of  snowy  mountains 
often  reflected  in  the  calm  waters  of  some  blue  coloured 
lake.  The  attractions  of  Tibet  may  yet  be  strong  enough 
to  draw  us  back  again  once  more.  Many  years  ago 
the  same  attraction  impelled  me  to  cross  the  Himalayan 
mountains  and  to  visit  another  part  of  Tibet,  but  my 
excursion  was,  I  am  afraid,  not  favourably  regarded  by  the 
Indian  Government  and  my  leave  was  stopped  for  six  months. 
The  same  attraction,  however,  still  exists  for  this  land  of 
many  colours  with  its  lonely  sunsets  full  of  beauty,  with  its 
nights  where  the  eager  stars  gleam  bright  as  diamonds,  and 
where  the  fuU  moon  shines  upon  the  nameless  mountains 
covered  with  snow  and  still  as  death. 

As  we  turned  our  backs  upon  the  country  we  left  winter 
behind  us,  and  descending  the  Chumbi  Valley  once  more 
found  ourselves  in  autumnal  surroundings.  The  Himalayan 
larch  were  all  of  a  beautiful  golden  colour ;  the  birch  were 
all  turning  brown,  and  the  berberis  were  a  brilliant  scarlet. 
Red  currants  and  the  scarlet  haws  of  the  rose  were  still  on 
the  bushes.  The  currants  were  no  longer  sour  to  eat  raw, 
and  we  picked  many  of  them  on  the  way  down.  Our  pockets, 
too,  were  filled  with  seeds  of  rhododendrons  and  other  flowers. 
On  the  way  I  was  met  by  the  native  officer  commanding  the 
garrison  at  Yatung,  which  was  now  found  by  the  90th 
Punjabis.  As  I  passed  their  quarters,  the  guard  turned 
out,  presenting  arms  very  smartly,  and  aU  the  detachment 
came  out  and  saluted.  They  were  certainly  a  very  well- 
trained  detachment.  Once  more  the  Macdonald  family  most 
kindly  sent  over  a  generous  meal,  besides  presents  of  every 
sort  and  kind  of  European  vegetable.  From  Yatung  we 
obtained  forty-five  mules  for  our  transport.  These  came 
along  very  much  faster  than  the  yaks  and  the  donkeys  that 
we  had  been  using.  Here  Gyalzen  Kazi,  one  of  our 
interpreters,  left  us  to  return  to  his  home  at  Gangtok.     I 

M.E  N 


178     THE  NARRATIVE  OF  THE  EXPEDITION 

was  very  sorry  to  lose  him.  He  had  been  a  pleasant 
companion  and  had  been  of  great  assistance  to  the 
Expedition.  He  was  always  most  willing  to  undertake 
any  difficult  or  unpleasant  job  there  might  be,  and  I  never 
heard  a  murmur  or  grumble  from  him  of  any  kind  during 
the  whole  time  that  he  was  with  us.  Our  march  was  only 
a  short  one  of  11  miles  to  Langra,  where  there  was  a  Tibetan 
rest-house  built  in  the  Chinese  style  and  rather  reminding 
me  of  our  rest-house  at  Tingri.  It  was  a  most  perfect 
autumnal  day,  with  scarcely  a  cloud  in  the  sky.  The  woods 
everywhere  were  very  beautiful,  the  dark  silver  fir  trees 
showing  up  the  scarlet  and  yellow  of  the  bushes  and  the 
gold  of  the  larch.  Our  cook,  Acchu,  was  drunk  again,  but 
Poo  prepared  us  a  good  meal  instead.  The  next  morning, 
to  our  surprise,  on  looking  out  we  found  a  couple  of  inches 
of  fresh  snow  on  the  ground  and  the  snow  was  stiU  falling 
steadily.  The  mules,  nevertheless,  were  all  loaded  up  in 
good  time,  and  I  followed  on  foot  to  the  top  of  the  Jelep 
Pass,  snow  falling  steadily  all  the  way — a  fine  granular 
snow.  At  the  top  of  the  pass  the  wind  was  blowing  keenly, 
driving  the  snow  into  our  faces.  Besides  the  6  inches  of 
fresh  snow  here,  there  was  a  good  deal  of  the  old  snow  that 
had  fallen  a  week  or  more  ago,  and  in  some  places  formed 
drifts  several  feet  deep.  It  is  seldom  that  a  clear  view  is 
ever  obtained  on  the  Jelep  Pass.  It  rained  when  we  came 
over  in  May  and  it  snowed  now,  and  twice  before,  when  I 
have  crossed  it,  it  rained  aU  the  time.  Snow  fell  all  the 
way  down  to  Gnatong,  where  there  were  already  a  couple  of 
inches  of  slush.  The  next  morning  was  luckily  fine,  as  we 
were  to  do  a  long  march  to  Rongli — a  distance  of  only  18 
miles,  but  with,  a  descent  of  9,500  feet.  The  first  few  miles 
we  walked  through  the  fresh  snow,  but  in  the  afternoon 
we  were  wandering  among  the  sweet  scents  of  a  troWcal 
jungle  with  orchids  still  flowering  on  the  trees  and  ripe 
oranges  in  the  garden  of  our  bungalow.  We  had  jumped 
from  winter  to  summer  in  a  few  hours.  The  Tibetan  mules 
came  along  excellently,  doing  the  march  in  just  over  eight 


BACK  TO  CIVILISATION  179 

hours,  a  very  different  proceeding  to  our  Government  mules 
on  the  way  up,  which  we  were  compelled  to  discard  at 
Sedongchen.  We  reached  Darjeeling  on  October  25.  Lord 
Ronaldshay  was  unfortunately  away  on  tour  on  his  way  to 
Bhutan,  and  as  he  had  travelled  via  Gangtok,  we  had  missed 
seeing  him  on  the  way.  The  next  few  days  we  spent  in 
getting  rid  of  the  remainder  of  our  stores,  selling  anything 
perishable  that  we  could,  getting  tents  dried  and  mended, 
and  storing  everything  else  in  view  of  a  second  Expedition. 
We  here  said  good-bye  to  our  other  interpreter,  Chheten 
Wangdi,  who  had  served  us  most  faithfuUy  throughout 
the  Expedition,  and  it  was  with  the  greatest  regret  that  we 
took  leave  of  him  on  the  railway  station  at  Darjeeling. 

Our  Expedition  had  accomplished  aU  that  it  had  set 
out  to  do.  AU  the  approaches  to  Mount  Everest  from  the 
North-west,  North,  North-east  and  East  had  been  carefuUy 
reconnoitred  and  a  possible  route  to  the  top  had  been  found 
up  the  North-east  ridge.  Climatic  conditions  alone  had 
prevented  a  much  greater  height  being  attained.  Friendly 
relations  had  been  established  with  the  Tibetan  officials 
and  people  wherever  we  went.  Our  travels  had  taken  us 
through  much  unexplored  and  new  country  wherein  we  had 
discovered  some  magnificent  and  undreamt-of  vaUeys  where 
primeval  forests  existed  such  as  we  had  never  imagined  to 
find  in  Tibet  and  where  deep  fiUed  glens  with  the  richest 
semi-tropical  vegetation  descended  as  low  as  7,000  feet. 
Many  beautiful  flowers  were  discovered  in  these  Alpine 
valleys,  and  we  were  able  to  collect  a  quantity  of  seeds  from 
these  which  I  hope  may  help  to  enrich  and  to  beautify  our 
gardens  at  home.  A  new  part  of  the  country  has  been 
opened  up  to  human  knowledge.  It  has  been  photographed 
and  described.  The  surveyors  have  made  an  original  survey 
at  a  scale  of  4  miles  to  the  inch  of  an  area  of  some  12,000 
square  miles  ;  a  detailed  photographic  survey  of  600  square 
miles  of  the  environs  of  Mount  Everest  has  been  worked  out, 
and,  besides  this,  the  maps  of  another  4,000  square  miles  of 
country  have  been  revised.     Dr.   Heron,  our  indefatigable 


180     THE  NARRATIVE   OF  THE  EXPEDITION 

geologist,  himself  travelled  over  the  greater  part  of  this  area, 
and  has  carefully  investigated  the  geology  of  the  whole 
region.  That  the  Expedition  was  able  to  accomplish  so  much 
in  such  a  short  time  was  due  to  the  hearty  co-operation  and 
keenness  of  all  the  members  of  the  party.  We  were  a  happy 
family  and,  to  use  a  rowing  expression,  we  all  "  pulled  to- 
gether." Such  success  as  we  attained  is  entirely  due  to  their 
strenuous  and  ceaseless  efforts,  and  I  can  only  express  my 
gratitude  to  them  for  the  unselfish  way  in  which  they  helped 
and  assisted  me  on  every  occasion. 

The  Expedition  of  1921  is  over ;  many  problems  have 
been  solved,  much  new  country  has  been  brought  witliin 
our  ken,  and  many  new  beauties  have  been  revealed,  but 
the  soul  of  man  is  never  content  with  what  has  been  attained. 
The  solution  of  one  problem  only  brings  forward  fresh 
problems  to  be  solved,  so  this  Expedition  into  unknown 
country  brings  within  the  realms  of  possibility  further  travels 
and  further  problems  to  be  solved.  There  is  much  that  yet 
remains  to  be  done,  much  that  remains  to  be  discovered ; 
and  though  we  may  not  be  privileged  to  discover  a  new 
race  of  hairy  snow  men,  yet  there  is  a  wild  and  uncharted 
country  full  of  beauty  and  interest  that  awaits  those  who 
dare  face  the  discomfort  and  hardships  of  travelling  in  Tibet 
— discomforts  which  are  soon  forgotten  and  leave  behind 
them  only  the  memories  of  very  wonderful  scenes  and  places 
which  the  passing  of  time  can  never  efface. 

Let  us  probe  the  silent  places,  let  us  seek  what  luck  betide  us, 

Let  us  journey  to  a  lonely  land  I  know  ; 
There's  a  whisper  in  the  night  wind,  there's  a  star,  a  gleam  to  guide  us, 

And  the  wild  is  calling,  calling,  let  us  go. 

R.  W.  S. 


THE  RECONNAISSANCE  OF  THE 
MOUNTAIN 

By 
GEORGE  H.   LEIGH-MALLORY 


\ 


CHAPTER  XII 
THE  NORTHERN  APPROACH 

As  a  matter  of  history  it  has  been  stated  aheady  in  an 
earher  chapter  of  this  book  that  the  highest  mountain  in 
the  world  attracted  attention  so  early  as  1850.  When  we 
started  our  travels  in  1921,  something  was  aheady  kno"v\Ti 
about  it  from  a  surveyor's  point  of  view  ;  it  was  a  triangulated 
peak  with  a  position  on  the  map  ;  but  from  the  mountaineer's 
point  of  view  almost  nothing  was  known.  Mount  Everest 
had  been  seen  and  photographed  from  various  points  on 
the  Singalila  ridge  as  well  as  from  Kampa  Dzong ;  from 
these  photographs  it  may  dimly  be  made  out  that  snow  Hes 
on  the  upper  part  of  the  Eastern  face  at  no  very  steep  angle, 
while  the  arete  bounding  this  face  on  the  North  comes  down 
gently  for  a  considerable  distance.  But  the  whole  angle 
subtended  at  the  great  summit  by  the  distance  between 
the  two  of  these  view-points  which  are  farthest  apart  is 
only  54°.  The  North-west  sides  of  the  mountain  had  never 
been  photographed  and  nothing  was  known  of  its  lower 
parts  anywhere.  Perhaps  the  distant  view  most  valuable 
to  a  mountaineer  is  that  from  Sandakphu,  because  it  suggests 
gigantic  precipices  on  the  South  side  of  the  mountain  so  that 
he  need  have  no  regrets  that  access  is  barred  in  that  direction 
for  political  reasons. 

The  present  reconnaissance  began  at  Kampa  Dzong,  no 
less  than  100  miles  away,  and  in  consequence  of  misfortunes 
wliich  the  reader  will  not  have  forgotten  was  necessarily 
entrusted  to  Mr.  G.  H.  Bullock  and  myself,  the  only 
representatives  of  the  Alpine  Club  now  remaining  in  the 
Expedition.  It  may  seem  an  irony  of  fate  that  actually 
on  the  day  after  the  distressing  event  of  Dr.  Kellas'  death 

183 


184    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

we  experienced  the  strange  elation  of  seeing  Everest  for  the 
first  time.  It  was  a  perfect  early  morning  as  we  plodded 
up  the  barren  slopes  above  our  camp  and  rising  behind  the 
old  rugged  fort  which  is  itself  a  singularly  impressive  and 
dramatic  spectacle ;  we  had  mounted  perhaps  a  thousand 
feet  when  we  stayed  and  turned,  and  saw  what  we  came  to 
see.  There  was  no  mistaking  the  two  great  peaks  in  the 
West :  that  to  the  left  must  be  Makalu,  grey,  severe  and  yet 
distinctly  graceful,  and  the  other  away  to  the  right — who 
could  doubt  its  identity  ?  It  was  a  prodigious  white  fang 
excrescent  from  the  jaw  of  the  world.  We  saw  Mount 
Everest  not  quite  sharply  defined  on  account  of  a  slight 
haze  in  that  direction ;  this  circumstance  added  a  touch  of 
mystery  and  grandeur ;  we  were  satisfied  that  the  highest 
of  mountains  would  not  disappoint  us.  And  we  learned  one 
fact  of  great  importance  :  the  lower  parts  of  the  mountain 
were  hidden  by  the  range  of  nearer  mountains  clearly  shown 
in  the  map  running  North  from  the  Nila  La  and  now  called 
the  Gyanka  Range,  but  it  was  possible  to  distinguish  aU 
that  showed  near  Everest  beyond  them  by  a  difference  in 
tone,  and  we  were  certain  that  one  great  rocky  peak  appearing 
a  little  way  to  the  left  of  Everest  must  belong  to  its  near 
vicinity. 

It  was  inevitable,  as  we  proceeded  to  the  West  from 
Kampa  Dzong,  that  we  should  lose  sight  of  Mount  Everest ; 
after  a  few  miles  even  its  tip  was  obscured  by  the  Gyanka 
Range,  and  we  naturally  began  to  wonder  whether  it  would 
not  be  possible  to  ascend  one  of  these  nearer  peaks  which 
must  surely  give  us  a  wonderful  view.  I  had  hopes  that 
we  should  be  crossing  the  range  by  a  high  pass,  in  which 
case  it  would  be  a  simple  matter  to  ascend  some  eminence 
near  it.  But  at  Tinki  we  learned  that  our  route  would 
lie  in  the  gorge  to  the  North  of  the  mountains  where  the 
river  Yaru  cuts  its  way  through  from  the  East  to  join  the 
Arun. 

From  Gyanka  Nangpa,  which  lies  under  a  rocky  summit 
over  20,000  feet  high,  Bullock  and  I,  on  June  11,  made  an 


THE  NORTHERN  APPROACH  185 

early  start  and  proceeded  down  the  gorge.  It  was  a  perfect 
morning  and  for  once  we  had  tolerably  swift  animals  to 
ride ;  we  were  fortunate  in  choosing  the  right  place  to  ford 
the  river  and  our  spirits  were  high.  How  could  they  be 
otherwise  ?  Ever  since  we  had  lost  sight  of  Everest  the 
Gyanka  Mountains  had  been  our  ultimate  horizon  to  the 
West.  Day  by  day  as  we  had  approached  them  our  thoughts 
had  concentrated  more  and  more  upon  what  lay  beyond. 
On  the  far  side  was  a  new  country.  Now  the  great  Arun 
River  was  to  divulge  its  secrets  and  we  should  see  Everest 
again  after  nearly  halving  the  distance.  The  nature  of  the 
gorge  was  such  that  our  curiosity  could  not  be  satisfied 
until  the  last  moment.  After  crossing  the  stream  we  followed 
the  flat  margin  of  its  right  bank  until  the  cliffs  converging 
to  the  exit  were  towering  above  us.  Then  in  a  minute  we 
were  out  on  the  edge  of  a  wide  sandy  basin  stretching  away 
with  complex  undulations  to  further  hills.  Sand  and  barren 
hills  as  before — but  with  a  difference ;  for  we  saw  the  long 
Arun  Valley  proceeding  Southwards  to  cut  through  the 
Himalayas  and  its  western  arm  which  we  should  have  to 
follow  to  Tingri ;  and  there  were  marks  of  more  ancient 
river  beds  and  strange  inland  lakes.  It  was  a  desolate  scene, 
I  suppose ;  no  flowers  were  to  be  seen  nor  any  sign  of  life 
beyond  some  stunted  gorse  bushes  on  a  near  hillside  and 
a  few  patches  of  coarse  brown  grass,  and  the  only  habitations 
were  dry  inhuman  ruins  ;  but  whatever  else  was  dead,  our 
interest  was   ahve. 

After  a  brief  halt  a  Uttle  way  out  in  the  plain,  to  take 
our  bearings  and  speculate  where  the  great  mountains  should 
appear,  we  made  our  way  up  a  steep  hill  to  a  rocky  crest 
overlooking  the  gorge.  The  only  visible  snow  mountains 
were  in  Sikkim.  Kanchenjunga  was  clear  and  eminent ; 
we  had  never  seen  it  so  fine  before  ;  it  now  seemed  singularly 
strong  and  monumental,  like  the  leonine  face  of  some  splendid 
musician  with  a  glory  of  white  hair.  In  the  direction  of 
Everest  no  snow  mountain  appeared.  We  saw  the  long 
base   tongues   descending   into   the   Arun   VaUey   from   the 


186    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

Gyanka  Range,  above  them  in  the  middle  distance  an 
amazingly  sharp  rock  summit  and  below  a  blue  depth  most 
unlike  Tibet  as  we  had  known  it  hitherto.  A  conical  hill 
stood  sentinel  at  the  far  end  of  the  valley,  and  in  the  distance 
was  a  bank  of  clouds. 

Our  attention  was  engaged  by  the  remarkable  spike  of 
rock,  a  proper  aiguille.  As  we  were  observmg  it  a  rift  opened 
in  the  clouds  behind ;  at  first  we  had  merely  a  fleeting 
glimpse  of  some  mountain  evidently  much  more  distant, 
then  a  larger  and  clearer  view  revealed  a  recognizable  form ; 
it  was  Makalu  appearing  just  where  it  should  be  according 
to  our  calculations  with  map  and  compass. 

We  were  now  able  to  make  out  almost  exactly  where 
Everest  should  be  ;  but  the  clouds  were  dark  in  that  direction. 
We  gazed  at  them  intently  through  field  glasses  as  though 
by  some  miracle  we  might  pierce  the  veil.  Presently  the 
miracle  happened.  We  caught  the  gleam  of  snow  behind 
the  grey  mists.  A  whole  group  of  mountains  began  to 
appear  in  gigantic  fragments.  Mountain  shapes  are  often 
fantastic  seen  through  a  mist ;  these  were  Hke  the  wildest 
creation  of  a  dream.  A  preposterous  triangular  lump  rose 
out  of  the  depths  ;  its  edge  came  leaping  up  at  an  angle  of 
about  70°  and  ended  nowhere.  To  the  left  a  black  serrated 
crest  was  hanging  in  the  sky  incredibly.  Gradually,  very 
gradually,  we  saw  the  great  mountain  sides  and  glaciers 
and  aretes,  now  one  fragment  and  now  another  through 
the  floating  rifts,  until  far  higher  in  the  sky  than  imagination 
had  dared  to  suggest  the  white  summit  of  Everest  appeared. 
And  in  this  series  of  partial  glimpses  we  had  seen  a  whole ; 
we  were  able  to  piece  together  the  fragments,  to  interpret 
the  dream.  However  much  might  remain  to  be  understood, 
the  centre  had  a  clear  meaning  as  one  mountain  shape,  the 
shape  of  Everest. 

It  is  hardly  possible  of  course  from  a  distance  of  57  miles 
to  formulate  an  accurate  idea  of  a  mountain's  shape.  But 
some  of  its  most  remarkable  features  may  be  distinguished 
for  what  they  are.     We  were  looking  at  Everest  from  about 


THE   NORTHERN  APPROACH  187 

North-east  and  evidently  a  long  arete  was  thrust  out  towards 
us.  Some  little  distance  below  the  summit  the  arete  came 
down  to  a  black  shoulder,  which  we  conjectured  would  be 
an  insuperable  obstacle.  To  the  right  of  this  we  saw  the 
sky  Une  in  profile  and  judged  it  not  impossibly  steep.  The 
edge  was  probably  a  true  arete  because  it  appeared  to  be 
joined  by  a  col  to  a  sharp  peak  to  the  North.  From  the 
direction  of  this  col  a  valley  came  down  to  the  East  and 
evidently  drained  into  the  Arim.  This  was  one  fact  of 
supreme  importance  which  was  now  estabHshed  and  we 
noticed  that  it  agreed  with  what  was  shown  on  the  map ; 
the  map  in  fact  went  up  in  our  esteem  and  we  were  inclined 
hereafter  to  beUeve  in  its  veracity  until  we  estabHshed  the 
contrary.  Another  fact  was  even  more  remarkable.  We 
knew  something  more  about  the  great  peak  near  Everest 
which  we  had  seen  from  Kampa  Dzong ;  we  knew  now  that 
it  was  not  a  separate  mountain  ;  in  a  sense  it  was  part  of 
Everest,  or  rather  Everest  was  not  one  mountain  but  two  ; 
this  great  black  mountain  to  the  South  was  connected  with 
Everest  by  a  continuous  arete  and  divided  from  it  only  by 
a  snow  col  which  must  itself  be  at  least  27,000  feet  high. 
The  black  cHffs  of  this  mountain,  which  faced  us,  were 
continuous  with  the  icy  East  face  of  Everest  itself. 

A  bank  of  cloud  stiU  lay  across  the  face  of  the  mountain 
when  Bullock  and  I  left  the  crest  where  we  were  estabHshed. 
It  was  late  in  the  afternoon.  We  had  looked  down  into  the 
gorge  and  watched  our  little  donkeys  crossing  the  stream. 
Now  we  proceeded  to  foUow  their  tracks  across  the  plain. 
The  wind  was  fiercely  blowing  up  the  sand  and  swept  it 
away  to  leeward,  transformmg  the  dead  flat  surface  into  a 
wriggHng  sea  of  watered  silk.  The  party  were  aU  sheltering 
in  their  tents  when  we  rejoined  them.  Our  camp  was 
situated  on  a  grassy  bank  below  which  by  some  miracle  a 
spring  wells  out  from  the  sand.  We  also  sought  shelter. 
But  a  short  while  after  sunset  the  -wind  subsided.  We  all 
came  forth  and  proceeded  to  a  little  eminence  near  at  hand ; 
and    as    we  looked   down   the   valley    there    was    Everest 


188    THE  RECONNAISSANCE  OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

calm   in    the   stillness   of    evening   and   clear   in   the   last 

light. 

I  have  dwelt  upon  this  episode  at  some  length  partly 
because  in  aU  our  travels  before  we  reached  the  mountain 
it  is  for  me  beyond  other  adventures  unforgettable ;  and 
not  less  because  the  vision  of  Everest  inhabiting  our  minds 
after  this  day  had  no  small  influence  upon  our  deductions 
when  we  came  to  close  quarters  with  the  mountain.  We 
made  other  opportunities  before  reaching  Tingri  to  ascend 
likely  hills  for  what  we  could  see ;  notably  from  Shekar 
Dzong  we  made  a  divergence  from  the  line  of  march  and 
from  a  hill  above  Ponglet,  on  a  morning  of  cloudless  sunrise, 
saw  the  whole  group  of  mountains  of  which  Everest  is  the 
centre.  But  no  view  was  so  instructive  as  that  above 
Shiling  and  we   added  little  to  the  knowledge  gained  that 

day. 

On  June  23,  after  a  day's  interval  to  arrange  stores,  the 
climbing  party  set  forth  from  Tingri  Dzong.  We  were  two 
Sahibs,  sixteen  coohes,  a  Sirdar,  Gyalzen  and  a  cook  Dukpa. 
The  process  of  selecting  the  coohes  had  been  begun  some 
time  before  this ;  the  long  task  of  nailing  their  boots  had 
been  nearly  completed  on  the  march  and  we  were  now 
confident  that  sixteen  of  the  best  Sherpas  with  their  cUmbing 
boots,  ice  axes  and  each  a  suit  of  underwear  would  serve  us 
well.  The  Sirdar  through  whom  coohes  had  been  engaged 
in  the  first  instance  seemed  to  understand  what  was  wanted 
and  to  have  sufficient  authority,  and  Dukpa,  though  we  could 
not  expect  from  him  any  culinary  refinements,  had  shown 
himself  a  person  of  some  energy  and  competence  who  should 
do  much  to  reduce  the  discomforts  of  life  in  camp.  Our 
equipment  was  seriously  deficient  in  one  respect :  we  were 
short  of  words.  A  few  hours  spent  in  Darjeeling  with  a 
Grammar  of  Tibetan  had  easily  convinced  me  that  I  should 
profit  little  in  the  short  time  available  by  the  study  of  that 
language.  It  had  been  assumed  by  both  BuUock  and  myself 
that  our  experienced  leaders  would  give  the  necessary  orders 
for  organisation  in  any  dialect  that  might  be  required    we 


THE  NORTHERN  APPROACH  189 

had  found  little  opportunity  since  losing  them  to  learn  a 
language,  and  our  one  hope  of  conversing  with  the  Sirdar 
was  a  vocabulary  of  about  150  words  which  I  had  written 
down  in  a  notebook  to  be  committed  to  memory  on  the 
march  and  consulted  when  occasion  should  arise. 

The  task  before  us  was  not  likely  to  prove  a  simple  and 
straightforward  matter,  and  we  had  no  expectation  that 
it  would  be  quickly  concluded.  It  would  be  necessary 
in  the  first  place  to  find  the  mountain  ;  as  we  looked  across 
the  wide  plains  from  Tingri  and  saw  the  dark  monsoon 
clouds  gathered  in  all  directions  we  were  not  reassured. 
And  there  would  be  more  than  one  approach  to  be  found. 
We  should  have  to  explore  a  number  of  valleys  radiating 
from  Everest  and  separated  by  high  ridges  which  would 
make  lateral  communication  extremely  difficult ;  we  must 
learn  from  which  direction  various  parts  of  the  mountain 
could  most  conveniently  be  reached.  And  beyond  all 
investigation  of  the  approaches  we  should  have  to  scrutinise 
Mount  Everest  itself.  Our  reconnaissance  must  aim  at  a 
complete  knowledge  of  the  various  faces  and  aretes,  a  correct 
understanding  of  the  whole  form  and  structure  of  the  mountain 
and  the  distribution  of  its  various  parts  ;  we  must  distinguish 
the  vulnerable  places  in  its  armour  and  finally  pit  our  skill 
against  the  obstacles  wherever  an  opportunity  of  ascent 
should  appear  until  all  such  opportunities  were  exhausted. 
The  whole  magnitude  of  the  enterprise  was  very  present  in 
our  minds  as  we  left  Tingri.  We  decided  that  a  prehminary 
reconnaissance  should  include  the  first  two  aims  of  finding 
the  approaches  to  Mount  Everest  and  determining  its  shape, 
while  anything  in  the  nature  of  an  assault  should  be  left 
to  the  last  as  a  separate  stage  of  organisation  and  effort. 
In  the  result  we  may  claim  to  have  kept  these  ends  in  view 
without  allowing  the  less  important  to  prey  upon  the 
greater.  So  long  as  a  doubt  remained  as  to  the  way  we 
should  choose  we  made  no  attempt  to  climb  the  peak  ;  we 
required  ourselves  first  to  find  out  as  much  as  possible  by 
more  distant  observations. 


190    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

Mount  Everest,  as  it  turned  out,  did  not  prove  difficult 
to  find.     Almost  in  the  direct  line  from  Tingri  are  two  great 
peaks    respectively    26,870    and    25,990    feet    high — known 
to  the  Survey  of  India  as  Mi  and  M2  and  to  Tibetans  as 
Cho-Uyo  and  Gyachung  Kang.     They  lie  about  W.N.W.  of 
Everest.     We  had  to  decide  whether  we  should  pass  to  the 
South  of  them,  leaving  them  on  our  left,  or  to  the  North. 
In  the  first  case  we  surmised  that  we  might  find  ourselves 
to  the  South  of  a  western  arete  of  Everest,  and  possibly  in 
Nepal,  which  was  out  of  bounds.     The  arete,  if  it  existed, 
might  perhaps  be  reached  from  the  North  and  give  us  the 
view  we  should  require  of  the  South-western  side,  in  which 
case  one  base  would  serve  us  for  a  large  area  of  investigation 
and  we   should   economise  time   that  would   otherwise   be 
spent  in  moving  our  camp  round  from  one  side  to  another. 
Consequently  we  chose  the  Northern  approach.     We  learned 
from  local  knowledge  that  in  two  days  we  might  reach  a 
village    and    monastery    caUed    Chobuk,    and    from    there 
could  follow  a  long  valley  to  Everest.     And  so  it  proved. 
Chobuk   was   not  reached  without  some  difficulty,  but  this 
was  occasioned  not  by  obstacles  in  the  country  but  by  the 
manners  of  Tibetans.     At  Tingri  we  had  hired  four  pack 
animals.     We  had  proceeded  2  or  3  miles  across  the  plain 
when  we  perceived  they  were  heading  in  the  wrong  direction. 
We  were  trusting  to  the  guidance  of  their  local  drivers  and 
felt  very  uncertain  as  to  where  exactly  we  should  be  aiming  ; 
but  their  line  was  about  60°  to  the  South  of  our  objective 
according    to    a    guesswork    compass    bearing.     An    almost 
interminable  three-cornered  argument  followed.     It  appeared 
that   our  guides  intended  to   take  five    days    to    Chobuk. 
They  knew  all  about  "  ca'  canny."     In  the  end  we  decided 
to  take  the  risk  of  a  separation  ;     Gyalzen  went  with  the 
bullocks  and  our  tents  to  change  transport  at  the  village 
where  we  were  intended  to  stay  the  night,  while  the  rest  of 
us  made  a  bee  line  for  a  bridge  where  we  should  have  to 
cross  the  Rongbuk  stream.     At  the  foot  of  a  vast  moraine 
we  waited  on  the  edge  of  the  "  maidan,"  anxiously  hoping 


THE  NORTHERN  APPROACH  191 

that  we  should  see  some  sign  of  fresh  animals  approaching  ; 
and  at  length  we  saw  them.  It  was  a  late  camp  that  evening 
on  a  strip  of  meadow  beside  the  stream,  but  we  had  the 
comfort  of  reflecting  that  we  had  foiled  the  natives,  whose 
aim  was  to  retard  our  progress,  and  in  the  sequel  we  reached 
our  destination  with  no  further  trouble. 

On  June  25  we  crossed  the  stream  at  Chobuk.  Tibetan 
bridges  are  so  constructed  as  to  offer  the  passenger  ample 
opportunities  of  experiencing  the  sensation  of  insecurity 
and  contemplating  the  possibilities  of  disaster.  This  one 
was  no  exception.  We  had  no  wish  to  risk  our  stores,  and 
it  was  planned  that  the  beasts  should  swim.  They  were 
accordingly  unladen  and  driven  with  yell  and  blow  by  a 
willing  crowd,  until  one  more  frightened  than  the  rest  plunged 
into  the  torrent  and  the  others  followed.  We  now  found 
ourselves  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Rongbuk  stream,  and 
knew  we  had  but  to  follow  it  up  to  reach  the  glacier  at  the 
head  of  the  valley.  An  hour  or  so  above  Chobuk  we  entered 
a  gorge  with  high  red  cliffs  above  us  on  the  left.  Below 
them  was  a  little  space  of  fertile  ground  where  the  moisture 
draining  down  from  the  limestone  above  was  caught  before 
it  reached  the  stream — a  green  ribbon  stretched  along  the 
margin  with  grass  and  low  bushes,  yeUow-flowering  asters, 
rhododendrons  and  juniper.  I  think  we  had  never  seen 
anything  so  green  since  we  came  up  on  to  the  tableland 
of  Tibet.  It  was  a  day  of  brilliant  sunshine,  as  yet  warm 
and  windless.  The  memory  of  Alpine  meadows  came  into 
my  mind.  I  remembered  their  manifold  allurements ;  I 
could  almost  smell  the  scent  of  pines.  Now  I  was  filled 
with  the  desire  to  lie  here  in  this  "  oasis  "  and  Uve  at  ease 
and  sniff  the  clean  fragrance  of  mountain  plants.  But  we 
went  on,  on  and  up  the  long  valley  winding  across  a  broad 
stony  bay  ;  and  all  the  stony  hillsides  under  the  midday 
sun  were  alike  monotonously  dreary.  At  length  we  followed 
the  path  up  a  steeper  rise  crowned  by  two  chortens  between 
which  it  passes.  We  paused  here  in  sheer  astonishment. 
Perhaps  we  had  half  expected  to  see  Mount  Everest  at  this 


192    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

moment.  In  the  back  of  my  mind  were  a  host  of  questions 
about  it  clamourmg  for  answer.  But  the  sight  of  it  now 
banished  every  thought.  We  forgot  the  stony  wastes  and 
regrets  for  other  beauties.  We  asked  no  questions  and 
made  no  comment,   but  simply  looked. 

It  is  perhaps  because  Everest  presented  itself  so 
dramatically  on  tliis  occasion  that  I  find  the  Northern 
aspect  more  particularly  imaged  in  my  mind,  when  I  recall 
the  mountain.  But  in  any  case  this  aspect  has  a  special 
significance.  The  Rongbuk  Valley  is  well  constructed  to 
show  ofi  the  peak  at  its  head ;  for  about  20  miles  it  is 
extraordinarily  straight  and  in  that  distance  rises  only 
4,000  feet,  the  glacier,  which  is  10  miles  long,  no  more  steeply 
than  the  rest.  In  consequence  of  this  arrangement  one 
has  only  to  be  raised  very  slightly  above  the  bed  of  the 
vaUey  to  see  it  almost  as  a  flat  way  up  to  the  very  head  of 
the  glacier  from  which  the  chfis  of  Everest  spring.  To 
the  place  where  Everest  stands  one  looks  along  rather  than 
up.  The  glacier  is  prostrate  ;  not  a  part  of  the  mountain  ; 
not  even  a  pediment ;  merely  a  floor  footing  the  high  walls. 
At  the  end  of  the  valley  and  above  the  glacier  Everest  rises 
not  so  much  a  peak  as  a  prodigious  mountam-mass.  There 
is  no  complication  for  the  eye.  The  highest  of  the  world's 
great  mountains,  it  seems,  has  to  make  but  a  single  gesture 
of  magniflcence  to  be  lord  of  all,  vast  in  unchallenged  and 
isolated  supremacy.  To  the  discerning  eye  other  mountains 
are  visible,  giants  between  23,000  and  26,000  feet  high.  Not 
one  of  their  slenderer  heads  even  reaches  their  chief's  shoulder  ; 
beside  Everest  they  escape  notice — such  is  the  pre-eminence 
of  the  greatest. 

Considered  as  a  structure  Mount  Everest  is  seen  from 
the  Rongbuk  VaUey  to  achieve  height  with  amazing 
simplicity.  The  steep  wall  10,000  feet  high  is  contained 
between  two  colossal  members — to  the  left  the  North-eastern 
arete,  which  leaves  the  summit  at  a  gentle  angle  and  in  a 
distance  of  about  half  a  mile  descends  only  1,000  feet  before 
turning   more   sharply   downwards   from   a   clearly   defined 


THE   NORTHERN  APPROACH  193 

shoulder ;  and  to  the  right  the  North-west  arete  (its  true 
direction  is  about  W.N.W.),  which  comes  down  steeply 
from  the  summit  but  makes  up  for  the  weaker  nature  of 
this  support  by  immense  length  below.  Such  is  the  broad 
plan.  In  one  respect  it  is  modified.  The  wide  angle  between 
the  two  main  aretes  involves  perhaps  too  long  a  face  ;  a 
further  support  is  added.  The  Northern  face  is  brought 
out  a  little  below  the  North-east  shoulder  and  then  turned 
back  to  meet  the  crest  again,  so  that  from  the  point  of  the 
shoulder  a  broad  arete  leads  down  to  the  North  and  is 
connected  by  a  snow  col  at  about  23,000  feet  with  a  Northern 
wing  of  mountains  which  forms  the  right  bank  of  the  Rongbuk 
Glacier  and  to  some  extent  masks  the  view  of  the  lower 
parts  of  Everest.  Nothing  could  be  stronger  than  this 
arrangement  and  it  is  nowhere  fantastic.  We  do  not  see 
jagged  crests  and  a  multitude  of  pinnacles,  and  beautiful 
as  such  ornament  may  be  we  do  not  miss  it.  The  outline 
is  comparatively  smooth  because  the  stratification  is 
horizontal,  a  circumstance  which  seems  again  to  give  strength, 
emphasising  the  broad  foundations.  And  yet  Everest  is  a 
rugged  giant.  It  has  not  the  smooth  undulations  of  a  snow 
mountain  with  white  snow  cap  and  glaciated  flanks.  It 
is  rather  a  great  rock  mass,  coated  often  with  a  thin  layer 
of  white  powder  which  is  blown  about  its  sides,  and  bearing 
perennial  snow  only  on  the  gentler  ledges  and  on  several 
wide  faces  less  steep  than  the  rest.  One  such  place  is  the 
long  arm  of  the  North-west  arete  which  with  its  slightly 
articulated  buttresses  is  like  the  nave  of  a  vast  cathedral 
roofed  with  snow.  I  was,  in  fact,  reminded  often  by  this 
Northern  view  of  Winchester  Cathedral  with  its  long  high 
nave  and  low  square  tower ;  it  is  only  at  a  considerable 
distance  that  one  appreciates  the  great  height  of  this  building 
and  the  strength  which  seems  capable  of  supporting  a  far 
taller  tower.  Similarly  with  Everest ;  the  summit  lies 
back  so  far  along  the  immense  aretes  that  big  as  it  always 
appears  one  required  a  distant  view  to  realise  its  height ; 
and  it  has  no  spire  though  it  might  easily  bear  one ;   I  have 

M.E,  0 


194    THE  RECONNAISSANCE    OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

thought  sometimes  that  a  Matterhorn  might  be  piled  on 
the  top  of  Everest  and  the  gigantic  structure  would  support 
the  added  weight  in  stable  equanimity. 

On  June  26  we  pitched  our  tents  in  full  view  of  Everest 
and  a  Httle  way  beyond  the  large  monastery  of  Choyling 
which  provides  the  habitations  nearest  to  the  mountain, 
about  16  miles  away.  After  three  days'  march  from  the 
Expedition's  headquarters  at  Tingri  we  had  found  the 
object  of  our  quest  and  estabhshed  a  base  in  the  Rongbuk 
Valley,  which  was  to  serve  us  for  a  month. 

The  first  steps  in  a  prolonged  reconnaissance  such  as 
we  were  proposing  to  undertake  were  easily  determined  by 
topographical  circumstances.  Neither  Bullock  nor  I  was 
previously  acquainted  with  any  big  mountains  outside  the 
Alps  ;  to  our  experience  in  the  Alps  we  had  continually  to 
refer,  both  for  understanding  this  country  and  for  estimating 
the  efforts  required  to  reach  a  given  point  in  it.  The  Alps 
provided  a  standard  of  comparison  which  alone  could  be 
our  guide  until  we  had  acquired  some  fresh  knowledge 
in  the  new  surroundings.  No  feature  of  what  we  saw  so 
immediately  challenged  this  comparison  as  the  glacier 
ahead  of  us  ;  in  so  narrow  a  glacier  it  was  hardly  surprising 
that  the  lower  part  of  it  should  be  covered  with  stones, 
but  higher  the  whole  surface  was  white  ice,  and  the  white 
ice  came  down  in  a  broad  stream  tapering  gradually  to  a 
point  when  it  was  lost  in  the  waste  of  the  brown  grey.  \Vhat 
was  the  meaning  of  this  ?  Even  from  a  distance  it  was 
possible  to  make  out  that  the  white  stream  contained 
pinnacles  of  ice.  Was  it  all  composed  of  pinnacles  ?  Would 
they  prove  an  insuperable  obstacle  ?  In  the  Alps  the  main 
glaciers  are  most  usually  highways,  the  ways  offered  to 
the  climber  for  his  travelling.  Were  they  not  to  prove 
highways  here  ? 

Our  first  expedition  was  designed  to  satisfy  our  curiosity 
on  this  head.  Allowing  a  bountiful  margin  of  time  for 
untoward  contingencies  we  set  forth  on  June  27  with  five 
cooUes  at  3.15  a.m.,  and  made  our  way  up  the  vaUey  with 


THE  NORTHERN  APPROACH  195 

a  good  moon  to  help  us.  To  be  tramping  under  the  stars 
toward  a  great  mountain  is  always  an  adventure ;  now 
we  were  adventuring  for  the  first  time  in  a  new  mountain 
country  which  still  held  in  store  for  us  all  its  surprises  and 
almost  all  its  beauties.  It  was  not  our  plan  at  present 
to  make  any  allowance  for  the  special  condition  of  elevation  ; 
we  expected  to  learn  how  that  condition  would  tell  and  how 
to  make  allowances  for  the  future.  We  started  from  our 
camp  at  16,000  feet — above  the  summit  of  Mont  Blanc — 
just  as  we  should  have  left  an  Alpine  hut  6,000  feet  lower, 
and  when  we  took  our  first  serious  halt  at  7  a.m.  had  already 
crossed  the  narrow  end  of  the  glacier.  That  short  experience 
— an  hour  or  so — was  sufficient  for  the  moment.  The 
hummocks  of  ice  covered  with  stones  of  all  sizes — like  the 
huge  waves  of  a  brown  angry  sea — gave  us  no  chance  of 
ascending  the  glacier  ;  one  might  hopefully  follow  a  trough 
for  a  little  distance  but  invariably  to  be  stopped  by  the 
necessity  of  mounting  once  more  to  a  crest  and  descending 
again  on  the  other  side.  Nevertheless,  we  were  not  dis- 
satisfied with  our  progress.  We  were  now  in  a  stream  bed 
between  the  glacier  and  its  left  bank  and  above  the  exit  of 
the  main  glacier  stream,  which  comes  out  on  this  side  well 
above  the  snout.  The  watercourse  offered  an  opportunity 
of  progress  ;  it  was  dry  almost  everjrwhere  and  for  a  bout 
of  leaping  from  boulder  to  boulder  we  were  usually  rewarded 
by  a  space  of  milder  walking  on  the  flat  sandy  bed.  Our 
pace  I  considered  entirely  satisfactory  as  we  went  on  after 
breakfast ;  unconsciously  I  was  led  into  something  like 
a  race  by  one  of  the  coolies  who  was  pressing  along  at  my 
side.  I  noticed  that  though  he  was  sHghtly  built  he  seemed 
extremely  strong  and  active,  compact  of  muscle  ;  but  he 
had  not  yet  learnt  the  art  of  walking  rhythmically  and 
balancing  easily  from  stone  to  stone.  I  wondered  how 
long  he  would  keep  up.  Presently  we  came  to  a  corner 
where  our  stream  bed  ended  and  a  small  glacier-snout  was 
visible  above  us  apparently  descending  from  the  North- 
west.    We  gathered  on  a  high  bank  of  stones  to  look  out 


196    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

over  the  glacier.  I  observed  now  that  the  whole  aspect 
of  the  party  had  changed.  The  majority  were  more  than 
momentarily  tired,  they  were  visibly  suffering  from  some 
sort  of  malaise.  It  was  not  yet  nine  o'clock  and  we  had 
risen  barely  2,000  feet,  but  their  spirits  had  gone.  There 
were  grunts  instead  of  laughter. 

The  glacier's  left  bank  which  we  were  following  was 
now  trending  to  the  right.  To  the  South  and  standing 
in  front  of  the  great  North-west  arm  of  Everest  was  a 
comparatively  small  and  very  attractive  snow  peak,  perhaps 
a  httle  less  than  21,000  feet  high.  We  had  harboured  a  vague 
ambition  to  reach  its  shoulder,  a  likely  point  for  prospecting 
the  head  of  the  Rongbuk  Glacier.  But  between  us  and 
this  objective  was  a  wide  stretch  of  hummocky  ice  which 
had  every  appearance  of  being  something  more  than  a 
mere  bay  of  the  main  glacier.  We  suspected  a  western 
branch  and  proceeded  to  confirm  our  suspicion.  After  a 
rough  crossing  below  the  glacier  above  us  we  were  fortunate 
enough  to  find  another  trough  wider  than  the  first  and 
having  a  flat  sandy  bottom  where  we  walked  easily  enough. 
Presently  leaving  the  coolies  to  rest  on  the  edge  of  the  glacier 
BuUock  and  I  mounted  a  high  stony  shoulder,  and  from 
there,  at  18,500  feet,  saw  the  glacier  stretching  away  to 
the  West,  turning  sharply  below  us  to  rise  more  steeply  than 
before.  Cloud  prevented  us  from  distinguishing  what 
appeared  to  be  a  high  mountain  ridge  at  the  far  end  of  it. 

It  was  evident  that  nothing  was  to  be  gained  at  present 
by  pushing  our  investigations  further  to  the  West.  Our 
curiosity  was  as  yet  unsatisfied  about  those  white  spires 
of  ice  to  which  our  eyes  had  constantly  returned.  We 
declined  the  alternative  of  retracing  our  steps  and  without 
further  delay  set  about  to  cross  the  glacier.  It  was  now 
eleven  o'clock  and  we  were  under  no  delusion  that  the  task 
before  us  would  be  other  than  arduous  and  long.  But 
the  reward  in  interest  and  valuable  information  promised 
to  be  great,  for,  by  exploring  the  glacier's  right  bank  during 
our  descent  we  should  learn  all  we  wanted  to  know  before 


THE  NORTHERN  APPROACH  197 

making  plans  for  an  advance.  And  we  hoped  to  be  in 
before  dark. 

The  stone-covered  ice  on  which  we  fii'st  embarked 
compared  favourably  with  that  of  our  earher  experience 
before  breakfast.  The  sea,  so  to  speak,  was  not  so  choppy  ; 
the  waves  were  longer.  We  were  able  to  follow  convenient 
troughs  for  considerable  distances.  But  at  the  bottom  of  a 
trough  which  points  whither  it  will  it  is  impossible  to  keep 
a  definite  direction  and  difficult  to  know  to  what  extent 
one  is  erring.  An  hour's  hard  work  was  required  to  bring 
us  to  the  edge  of  the  white  ice.  Our  first  question  was 
answered  at  a  glance.  It  had  always  seemed  improbable 
that  these  were  seracs  such  as  one  meets  on  an  Alpine 
icefall,  and  clearly  they  were  not.  We  saw  no  signs  of 
lateral  crevasses.  The  shapes  were  comparatively  conical 
and  regular,  not  dehcately  poised  but  fii'mly  based,  safely 
perpendicular  and  not  dangerously  impending.  They  were 
the  result  not  of  movement  but  of  melting,  and  it  was 
remarkable  that  on  either  side  the  black  ice  looked  over  the 
white,  as  though  the  glacier  had  sunk  in  the  middle.  The 
pinnacles  resembled  a  topsy-turvy  system  of  colossal  icicles, 
icicles  thrust  upwards  from  a  common  icy  mass,  the  whole 
resting  on  a  definable  floor.  The  largest  were  about  50 
feet  high. 

We  were  divided  from  this  fairy  world  of  spires  by  a 
deep  boundary  moat  and  entered  it  on  the  far  side  by  what 
may  be  described  as  a  door  but  that  it  had  no  lintel.  An 
alley  led  us  over  a  low  wall  and  we  had  reached  the  interior. 
A  connected  narrative  of  our  wanderings  in  tliis  amazing 
country  could  hardly  be  true  to  its  disconnected  character. 
The  White  Rabbit  himself  would  have  been  bewildered 
here.  No  course  seemed  to  lead  anywhere.  Our  idea  was 
to  keep  to  the  floor  so  far  as  we  were  able  ;  but  most  usually 
we  were  scrambling  up  a  chimney  or  slithering  down  one, 
cutting  round  the  foot  of  a  tower  or  actually  traversing 
along  an  icy  crest.  To  be  repeatedly  crossmg  Httle  cols 
with  the   continued   expectation   of   seeing   a  way   beyond 


198    THE  RECONNAISSANCE  OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

was  a  sufficiently  exciting  labour  ;  it  was  also  sufficiently- 
laborious  since  the  chopping  of  steps  was  necessary  almost 
everywhere  ;  but  fatigue  was  out  of  sight  in  the  enchanted 
scene,  with  the  cool  dehght  of  little  lakes,  of  the  ice  reflected 
in  their  unruffled  waters  and  of  blue  sky  showing  between 
the  white  spires.  We  had  but  one  misadventure,  and 
that  of  no  consequence — it  was  my  fate  when  crossing  the 
frozen  surface  of  one  httle  lake  to  suffer  a  sudden  immersion : 
the  loss  of  dignity  perhaps  was  more  serious  than  the  chiUing 
of  ardour,  for  we  soon  came  upon  a  broadening  aUey  and 
came  out  from  our  labyrinth  as  suddenly  as  we  entered 
it,  to  He  and  bask  in  the  warm  sun. 

Our  crossing  of  the  white  ice  after  aU  had  taken  Httle 
more  than  two  hours,  and  we  might  well  consider  ourselves 
fortunate.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that  we  were  far 
from  fresh  at  the  start  and  now  the  reaction  set  in.  The 
stone-covered  glacier  on  this  side,  besides  being  a  much 
narrower  belt  was  clearly  not  going  to  give  us  trouble,  and 
after  an  ample  halt  we  started  across  it  easily  enough. 
On  the  right  bank  we  had  noticed  many  houi^s  before  above 
the  glacier  a  broad  flat  shelf,  presumably  an  old  moraine, 
and  a  clear  mark  along  the  hiUside  away  down  to  a  point 
below  the  snout.  This  was  now  our  objective  and  no  doubt 
once  we  had  gained  it  our  troubles  would  be  ended.  But 
in  the  first  place  it  had  to  be  gained.  In  the  Alps  it  has 
often  seemed  laborious  to  go  up  hiU  towards  the  end  of  a 
day :  it  was  a  new  sensation  to  find  it  an  almost  impossible 
exertion  to  drag  oneself  up  a  matter  of  150  feet.  And 
further  exertions  were  to  be  required  of  us.  A  little  way 
down  the  valley  a  glacier  stream  came  in  on  our  right ;  we 
had  observed  this  before  and  hopefully  expected  to  foUow 
our  terrace  round  and  rejoin  it  on  the  far  side  of  the  gully. 
But  it  was  late  in  the  afternoon  and  the  stream  was  at  its 
fullest.  We  followed  it  down  v/ith  defeated  expectations  ; 
it  always  proved  just  too  dangerous  to  cross.  Finally  it 
formed  a  lake  at  the  edge  of  the  glacier  before  disappearing 
beneath  it  and  obliged  us  to  make  a  detour  on  the  ice  once 


THE  NORTHERN  APPROACH  199 

more.  I  suppose  this  obstacle  was  mild  enough  ;  but  again 
an  ascent  was  involved,  and  after  it  at  least  one  member 
of  the  party  seemed  incapable  of  further  effort.  Another 
halt  was  necessary.  We  were  now  down  to  about  17,000 
feet  and  at  the  head  of  a  long  passage  at  the  side  of  the 
glacier,  similar  to  that  we  had  ascended  in  the  morning 
on  the  other  bank.  Those  who  suffer  from  altitude  on  a 
mountain  have  a  right  to  expect  a  recovery  on  the  descent. 
But  I  saw  no  signs  of  one  yet.  It  was  a  long  painful 
hour  balancing  from  boulder  to  boulder  along  the  passage, 
with  the  conscious  effort  of  keeping  up  the  feat  mitil  we 
came  out  into  the  flat  basin  at  the  glacier  end.  Then  as 
we  left  the  glacier  behind  us  the  day  seemed  to  come  right. 
One  obstacle  remained,  a  stream  which  had  been  crossed 
with  difficulty  in  the  morning  and  was  now  swollen  to  a 
formidable  torrent.  It  was  carried  with  a  rush — this  was 
no  moment  for  delay.  Each  man  chose  his  own  way  for 
a  wetting ;  for  my  part,  after  a  series  of  exciting  leaps  on  to 
submerged  stones  I  landed  m  the  deepest  part  of  the  stream 
with  the  pick  of  my  axe  dug  into  the  far  bank  to  help  me 
scramble  out.  After  this  I  remember  only  of  the  last  4 
miles  the  keen  race  against  the  gathering  darkness  ;  fatigue 
was  forgotten  and  we  reached  camp  at  8.15  p.m.,  tired 
perhaps,  but  not  exhausted. 

It  has  seemed  necessary  to  give  an  account  of  this  first 
expedition  in  some  detail  in  order  to  emphasise  certain 
conditions  which  governed  aU  our  movements  from  the 
Rongbuk  Valley.  We  now  knew  how  to  get  about.  Flat 
though  the  glacier  might  be,  it  was  no  use  for  travelling 
in  any  part  we  had  seen,  not  a  road  but  an  obstacle.  The 
obstacle,  however,  had  not  proved  insurmountable,  and 
though  the  crossing  had  been  laborious  and  long,  we  were 
not  convinced  that  it  need  be  so  long  another  time  ;  careful 
reconnaissance  might  reveal  a  better  way,  and  we  had  little 
doubt  that  both  the  main  glacier  and  its  Western  branch 
could  be  used  freely  for  lateral  communication  if  we  chose. 
It  would  not  always  be  necessary  in  organising  an  expedition 


200    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

to  be  encamped  on  one  side  of  the  glacier  rather  than  the 
other.  And  we  had  discovered  that  it  was  not  a  difficult 
matter  to  make  our  way  along  the  glacier  sides ;  we  could 
choose  either  a  trough  or  a  shelf. 

We  had  also  been  greatly  interested  by  the  phenomena 
of  fatigue.  The  most  surprising  fact  when  we  apphed  our 
standard  of  comparison  was  that  coming  down  had  proved 
so  laborious ;  Bullock  and  I  had  each  discovered  indepen- 
dently that  we  got  along  better  when  we  remembered  to 
breathe  hard,  and  we  already  suspected  what  we  afterwards 
estabhshed — that  it  was  necessary  to  adopt  a  conscious 
method  of  breathing  deeply  for  coming  down  as  for  going 
up.  Another  inference,  subsequently  confirmed  on  many 
occasions,  accused  the  glacier.  The  mid-day  sun  had  been 
hot  as  we  crossed  it  and  I  seemed  to  notice  some  enervating 
influence  which  had  not  affected  me  elsewhere.  It  was  the 
glacier  that  had  knocked  me  out,  not  the  hard  work  alone 
but  some  mahgnant  quaUty  in  the  atmosphere,  which  I 
can  neither  describe  nor  explain ;  and  in  crossing  a  glacier 
during  the  day  I  always  afterwards  observed  the  same 
effect ;  I  might  feel  as  fit  and  fresh  as  I  could  wish  on  the 
moraine  at  the  side  but  only  once  succeeded  in  crossing  a 
glacier  without  feeling  a  despairing  lassitude. 
I  shall  now  proceed  to  quote  from  my  diary : 
June  28. — A  slack  day  in  camp.  It  is  difficult  to  induce 
cooHes  to  take  any  steps  to  make  themselves  more  com- 
fortable. We're  lucky  to  have  this  fine  weather.  The 
mountain  appears  not  to  be  intended  for  climbing.  I've 
no  inclination  to  think  about  it  in  steps  to  the  summit. 
Nevertheless,  we  gaze  much  tlirough  field-glasses.  E.  is, 
generally  speaking,  convex,  steep  in  lower  parts  and  slanting 
back  to  summit.  Last  section  of  East  arete  *  should  go  ; 
but  rocks  up  to  the  shoulder  are  uninviting.  An  arete 
must  join  up  here,  coming  down  towards  us  and  connecting 

*  It  had  not  yet  been  established  that  the  true  direction  of  this  arete 
is  North-east. 


THE   NORTHERN  APPROACH 


201 


up  with  first  peak  to  N.*  There's  no  true  North  arete  to 
the  summit,  as  we  had  supposed  at  fii*st.  It's  more  hke 
this : 


2  ".'^  Peak 
to  North 


SUMMIT 


North  East 
Shoulder 


G.  H.  B.  thinks  little  of  the  North-west  arm.  But  I'm  not 
so  sm'e  ;  much  easy  going  on  that  snow  if  we  can  get  to 
it  and  rocks  above  probably  easier  than  they  look — steep 
but  broken.  Are  we  seeing  the  true  edge  ?  I  wish  some 
folk  at  home  could  see  the  precipice  on  this  side — a  grim 
spectacle  most  unlike  the  long  gentle  snow  slopes  suggested 
by  photos.  Amusing  to  think  how  one's  vision  of  the  last 
effort  has  changed  ;  it  looked  like  crawling  haK-bhnd  up 
easy  snow,  an  even  slope  all  the  way  up  from  a  camp  on 
a  flat  snow  shoulder  ;  but  it  won't  be  that  sort  of  grind ; 
we'll  want  climbers  and  not  half-dazed  ones  ;  a  tougher 
job  than  I  bargained  for,  sangume  as  usual. 

E.  is  a  rock  mountain. 

Obviously  we  must  get  round  to  the  West  first.  The 
Western  glacier  looks  as  flat  as  this  one.     Perhaps  we  shall 

*  i.e.  the  North  Peak  (Changtse). 


202    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

be  able  to  walk  round  into  another  cwm*  on  the  far  side  of 
North-west  buttress. 

June  29. — Established  First  Advanced  Camp. 

The  start  late,  about  8  a.m.,  an  hour  later  than  ordered. 
Loads  must  be  arranged  better  if  anything  is  to  be  done 
efficiently.  Gyalzen's  response  to  being  hustled  is  to  tie 
Imots  or  coUect  tent  pegs — with  no  idea  of  superintending 
operations.  An  exciting  day  with  destination  unfixed. 
We  speculated  that  the  shelf  on  the  left  bank  would  resemble 
that  on  right.  A  passage  on  stone-covered  glacier  unavoid- 
able and  bad  for  coolies — perhaps  to-day's  loads  were  too 
heavy  for  this  sort  of  country.  From  breakfast  place  of 
27th  I  went  on  with  Gyalzen,  following  up  a  fresh-water 
stream  to  the  shelf ;  good  going  on  this  shelf  for  forty 
minutes,  with  no  sign  of  more  water,  and  I  decided  to  come 
back  to  the  stream.  Just  as  we  were  turning  I  saw  a  pond 
of  water  and  a  spring,  an  ideal  place,  and  it's  much  better 
to  be  further  on.  Real  good  luck.  Wind  blows  down 
the  glacier  and  the  camp  is  weU  sheltered.  Only  crab  that 
we  lose  the  sun  early — 4  p.m.  to-day  ;  but  on  the  other 
hand  it  should  hit  us  very  soon  after  sunrise. 

Coolies  in  between  3.30  and  4.30.  Dorji  Gompa  first, 
stout  fellow,  with  a  big  load.  They  seem  happy  and 
interested.  ...  It  should  now  be  possible  to  carry  recon- 
naissance well  up  the  main  glacier  and  to  the  basin  Westwards 
without  moving  further — once  we  get  accustomed  to  this 
elevation. 

June  30. — A  short  day  with  second  f  party,  following  the 
shelf  to  a  corner  which  marks  roughly  the  junction  of  the 
main  glacier  with  its  Western  branch.  A  clearing  day  after 
a  good  night ;  we  found  a  good  way  across  to  the  opposite 
corner,  about  an  hour  across,  and  came  back  in  leisurely 
fashion.     Neither  B.  nor  I  felt  fit. 

*  Cwm,  combe  or  corry — tho  rounded  head  of  a  valley. 

I  The  coolies  had  been  divided  into  three  parties  which  were  to  spend 
four  or  five  days  in  the  advanced  camp  by  turns  to  be  trained  in  the  practice 
of  mountaineering  while  the  rest  supplied  this  camp  from  our  base. 


CHAPTER   XIII 
THE  NORTHERN  AFFROACK— continued 

The  reader  will  gather  from  these  notes  some  idea  of 
the  whole  nature  of  our  problem  and  the  subjects  of  our  most 
anxious  thoughts.  The  camp  established  on  June  25  lasted 
us  until  July  8.  Meanwhile  the  idea  was  grooving,  the  vision 
of  Everest  as  a  structural  whole,  and  of  the  glaciers  and 
lower  summits  to  North  and  West.  This  idea  resembled 
the  beginning  of  an  artist's  painting,  a  mere  rough  design  at 
the  start,  but  growing  by  steps  of  clearer  definition  in  one 
part  and  another  towards  the  precise  completion  of  a  whole. 
For  us  the  mountain  parts  defined  themselves  in  the  mind 
as  the  result  of  various  expeditions.  We  set  out  to  gain  a 
point  of  view  with  particular  questions  to  be  answered; 
partial  answers  and  a  new  point  of  view  stimulated  more 
curiosity,  other  questions,  and  again  the  necessity  to  reach 
a  particular  place  whence  we  imagined  they  might  best 
be  answered.  And  at  the  same  time  another  aim  had  to 
be  kept  in  mind.  The  coolies,  though  mountain-men, 
were  not  mountaineers.  They  had  to  be  trained  in  the 
craft  of  mountaineering,  in  treading  safely  on  snow  or  ice 
in  dangerous  places,  in  climbing  easy  rocks  and  most 
particularly  in  the  use  of  rope  and  ice-axe — and  this  not  merely 
for  our  foremost  needs,  but  to  ensure  that,  whenever  we 
were  able  to  launch  an  assault  upon  Mount  Everest,  and  all 
would  be  put  to  the  most  exhausting  test,  they  should  have 
that  reserve  strength  of  a  practised  balance  and  ordered 
method  on  which  security  must  ultimately  depend. 

On  July  1  I  set  out  with  five  coohes  to  reach  the  head  of 
the  great  cwm  under  the  North  face  of  Mount  Everest. 
The  snow  on  the  upper  glacier  was  soft  and  made  very 

203 


204    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

heavy  going.  Bad  weather  came  up  and  in  a  race  against 
the  clouds  we  were  beaten  and  failed  to  find  out  what 
happened  to  the  glacier  at  its  Western  head  under  the 
North-west  arete.  My  view  of  the  col  lying  between  Everest 
and  the  North  Peak  (Changtse) — the  North  Col  as  we  now 
began  to  call  it,  or  in  Tibetan  Chang  La — was  also  unsatis- 
factory ;  but  I  saw  enough  to  make  out  a  broken  glacier 
running  up  eastwards  towards  the  gap  with  steep  and 
uninviting  snow  slopes  under  the  pass.  I  was  now  sure 
that  before  attempting  to  reach  this  col  from  the  Rongbuk 
Glacier,  if  ever  we  determined  to  reach  it,  we  should  have 
to  reconnoitre  the  other  side  and  if  possible  find  a  more 
hopeful  alternative ;  moreover,  from  a  nearer  inspection 
of  the  slopes  below  the  North-west  arete  I  was  convinced 
that  they  could  be  chosen  for  an  attack  only  as  a  last  resort ; 
if  anything  were  to  be  attempted  here,  we  must  find  a  better 
way  up  from  the  East. 

I  had  vaguely  hoped  to  bring  the  party  home  sufiiciently 
fresh  to  chmb  again  on  the  following  day.  But  the  fatigue 
of  going  in  deep  snow  for  three  hours  up  the  glacier,  though 
we  had  been  no  higher  than  19,100  feet,  had  been  too  great, 
and  again  we  had  noticed  only  a  slight  relief  in  coming  down  ; 
it  was  a  tired  party  that  dragged  back  over  the  glacier 
crossing  and  into  camp  at  6.15  p.m.,  thirteen  hours  after 
starting. 

July  3  was  devoted  to  an  expedition  designed  chiefly 
to  take  coohes  on  to  steeper  ground  and  at  the  same  time 
to  explore  the  small  glacier  which  we  had  observed  above 
us  on  the  first  day  to  the  North-west ;  by  following  up  the 
terrace  from  our  present  camp  we  could  now  come  to  the 
snout  of  it  in  half  an  hour  or  less.  After  working  up  the 
glacier  we  made  for  a  snow  col  between  two  high  peaks. 
On  reaching  a  bergschrund  we  found  above  its  upper  Up 
hard  ice,  which  continued  no  doubt  to  the  ridge.  While 
Bullock  looked  after  the  party  below  I  cut  a  staircase 
slanting  up  to  a  small  island  of  rock  100  feet  away  ;  from 
that  secuiity  I  began  to  bring  the  party  up.     We  had  now 


THE  NORTHERN  APPROACH  205 

the  interesting  experience  of  seeing  our  coolies  for  the  first 
time  on  real  hard  ice  ;    it  was  not  a  convincing  spectacle, 
as  they  made  their  way  up  with  the  ungainly  movements 
of  beginners  ;   and  though  the  last  man  never  left  the  secure 
anchorage  of  the  bergschrund,  the  proportion  of  two  Sahibs 
to  five  cooHes  seemed  lamentably  weak,  and  when  one  man 
sKpped  from  the  steep  steps  at  an  awkward  corner,  though 
Bullock  was  able  to  hold  him,  it  was  clearly  time  to  retire. 
But  the  descent  was  a  better  performance ;   the  coolies  were 
apt  pupils,  and  we  felt  that  with  practice  on  the  glacier 
the  best  of  them  should  become  safe  mountaineers.     And 
on  this  day  we  had  reached  a  height  of  21,000  feet  *  from 
our  camp  at  17,500  feet.      I  had  the  great  satisfaction  of 
observing  that  one   could   cut   steps   quite  happily  at  this 
altitude.     The  peak  lying  to  the  North  of  the  col,  which  had 
been  our  objective  on  this  day,  attracted  our  attention  by 
its  position ;  we  thought  it  should  have  a  commanding  view 
over  all  this  complicated  country,  and  after  a  day  in  camp 
very   pleasantly   spent   in   receiving   a   visit   from    Colonel 
Howard-Bury  and  Dr.  Heron,  set  out  on  July  5  determined 
to  reach  its  summit.     The  start  was  made  at  4.15  a.m.  in 
the  first  light,  an  hour  earlier  than  usual ;    we  proceeded 
up  the  stone  shoots  immediately  above  our  camp  and  after 
a  halt  for  photography  at  the  glorious  moment  of  sunrise 
had  made  2,500  feet  and  reached  the  high  shoulder  above 
us  at  7  a.m.      This  place    was    connected  with   our  peak 
by  a  snowy  col  which  had  now  to  be  reached  by  a  long 
traverse    over    a    South-facing    slope.     Though    the    angle 
was  not  steep  very  little  snow  was  Ij^ng  here,  and  where  the 
ice  was  peeping  through  it  was  occasionally  necessary  to 
cut  steps.     I  felt  it  was  a  satisfactory  performance  to  reach 
the  col  at  9.30  a.m.  ;   the  cooHes  had  come  well,  though  one 
of  them  was  burdened  with  the  quarter-plate  camera  ;    but 
evidently  their  efforts  had  already  tired  them.     Ahead  of 

*  Calculated  from  the  readings  of  two  aneroids,  allowing  a  correction 
for  the  height  of  the  camp  as  established  later  by  Major  Wheeler. 


206    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

us  was  a  long,  curving  snow  arete,  slightly  corniced  and 
leading  ultimately  to  a  rocky  shoulder.  We  thought  that 
once  this  shoulder  was  gained  the  summit  would  be  within 
our  reach.  Shortly  after  we  went  on  two  coolies  dropped 
out,  and  by  11.30  a.m.  the  rest  had  given  up  the  struggle. 
It  was  fortunate  that  they  fell  out  here  and  not  later,  for 
they  were  able  to  make  their  way  down  in  our  tracks  and 
regain  the  col  below  in  safety.  The  angle  steepened  as  we 
went  on  very  slowly  now,  but  stiU  steadily  enough,  until 
we  reached  the  rocks,  a  frail  slatey  structure  with  short 
perpendicular  pitches.  From  the  shoulder  onwards  my 
memories  are  dim.  I  have  the  impression  of  a  summit 
continually  receding  from  the  position  imagined  by  sanguine 
hopes  and  of  a  task  growing  constantly  more  severe,  of 
steeper  sides,  of  steps  to  be  cut,  of  a  dwindling  pace,  more 
frequent  little  halts  standing  where  we  were,  and  of 
breathing  quicker  but  no  less  deep  and  always  conscious  ; 
the  respu'atory  engine  had  to  be  kept  running  as  the 
indispensable  source  of  energy,  and  ever  as  we  went  on  more 
work  was  required  of  it.  At  last  we  found  ourselves 
without  an  alternative  under  an  icy  wall ;  but  the  ice  was 
a  delusion  ;  in  the  soft  flaky  substance  smothering  rocks 
behind  it  we  had  strength  left  to  cut  a  way  up  to  the  crest 
again,  and  after  a  few  more  steps  were  on  the  summit 
itself. 

It  was  now  2.45  p.m.  The  aneroid  used  by  Bullock, 
which,  after  comparison  with  one  of  Howard-Bury's  was 
supposed  to  read  low,  registered  23,050  feet,*  and  we  puffed 
out  our  chests  as  we  examined  it,  computing  that  we  had 
risen  from  our  camp  over  5,500  feet.  The  views  both 
earlier  in  the  day  and  at  this  moment  were  of  the  highest 
interest.  To  the  East  we  had  confirmed  our  impression  of 
the  North  Peak  as  having  a  high  ridge  stretching  eastwards 
and  forming  the   side  of  whatever  valley  connected  with 

*  The  survey  established  the  height  of  this  peak  as  22,520  feet,  and 
our  subsequent  experience  suggests  that  aneroid  barometers  habitually 
read  too  high  when  approaching  the  upper  limit  of  their  record. 


THE  NORTHERN  APPROACH  207 

the  Arun  River  in  this  direction  ;  the  upper  parts  of  Everest's 
North  face  had  been  clearly  visible  for  a  long  time,  and 
we  could  now  be  certain  that  they  lay  back  at  no  impossibly 
steep  angle,  more  particularly  above  the  North  col  and  up 
to  the  North-east  shoulder.  All  we  had  seen  immediately 
to  the  West  of  the  mountain  had  been  of  the  greatest  interest, 
and  had  suggested  the  idea  that  the  crinkled  summit  there 
might  be  connected  not  directly  with  Mount  Everest 
itself,  but  only  by  way  of  the  South  peak.  And  finally  we 
now  saw  the  connections  of  all  that  lay  around  us  with 
the  two  great  triangulated  peaks  away  to  the  West,  Gyachung 
Kang,  25,990  and  Cho-Uyo,  26,870  feet.  While  complaining 
of  the  clouds  which  had  come  up  as  usual  during  the  morning 
to  spoil  our  view  we  were  not  dissatisfied  with  the  expansion 
of  our  knowledge  and  we  were  elated  besides  to  be  where 
we  were.  But  our  situation  was  far  from  perfectly  secure. 
The  ascent  had  come  very  near  to  exhausting  our  strength  ; 
for  my  part  I  felt  distinctly  mountain-sick ;  we  might 
reflect  that  we  should  not  be  obliged  to  cut  more  steps,  but 
we  should  have  to  proceed  downwards  with  perfect  accuracy 
of  balance  and  a  long  halt  was  desirable.  However,  the 
clouds  were  now  gathering  about  us,  dark  thunder-clouds 
come  up  from  the  North  and  threatening  ;  it  was  clear  we 
must  not  wait ;  after  fifteen  minutes  on  the  summit  we 
started  down  at  three  o'clock.  Fortune  favoured  us.  The 
wind  was  no  more  than  a  breeze ;  a  few  flakes  of  snow  were 
unnoticed  in  our  flight ;  the  temperature  was  mild ;  the 
storm's  malice  was  somehow  dissipated  mth  no  harm  done. 
We  rejoined  the  coolies  before  five  o'clock  and  were  back 
in  our  camp  at  7.15  p.m.,  happy  to  have  avoided  a  descent 
in  the  dark. 

Our  next  plan,  based  on  our  experience  of  this  long 
mountain  ridge,  was  to  practise  the  coolies  in  the  use  of 
crampons  on  hard  snow  and  ice.  But  snow  fell  heavily 
on  the  night  of  the  6th  ;  we  deferred  our  project.  It  was 
the  beginning  of  worse  weather ;  the  monsoon  was  breaking 
in    earnest.     And    though    crampons    afterwards    came    up 


208    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE   MOUNTAIN 

to  our  camps  wherever  we  went  they  were  not  destined  to 
help  us,  and  in  the  event  were  never  used. 

On  July  8  we  moved  up  with  a  fresh  party  of  seven  coolies, 
taking  only  our  lightest  tents  and  no  more  than  was  necessary 
for  three  nights,  in  the  hope  that  by  two  energetic  expeditions 
we  should  reach  the  Western  cwm  which,  we  suspected,  must 
exist  on  the  far  side  of  the  North-west  arete,  and  learn  enough 
to  found  more  elaborate  plans  for  exploring  this  side  of  the 
mountain  should  they  turn  out  to  be  necessary.  Again 
we  were  fortunate  in  finding  a  good  camping  ground,  better 
even  than  the  first,  for  the  floor  of  this  shelf  was  grassy 
and  soft,  and  as  we  were  looking  South  across  the  West 
Rongbuk  Glacier  we  had  the  sun  late  as  well  as  early.  But 
we  were  not  completely  happy.  A  Mummery  tent  may 
be  weU  enough  in  fair  weather,  though  even  then  its  low 
roof  suggests  a  recumbent  attitude  ;  it  makes  a  poor  dining- 
room,  even  for  two  men,  and  is  a  cold  shelter  from  snow. 
Moreover,  the  cold  and  draught  discouraged  our  Primus 
stove — but  I  leave  to  the  imagination  of  those  who  have 
learned  by  experience  the  nausea  that  comes  from  the 
paraffin  fumes  and  one's  dirty  hands  and  all  the  mess  that 
may  be.  It  was  chiefly  a  question  of  incompetence,  no 
doubt,  but  there  was  no  consolation  in  admitting  that.  In 
the  morning,  with  the  weather  still  very  thick  and  the  snow 
lying  about  us  we  saw  the  error  of  our  ways.  Is  it  not  a 
first  principle  of  mountaineering  to  be  as  cqmfortable  as 
possible  as  long  as  one  can  ?  And  how  long  should  we 
require  for  these  operations  in  such  weather  ?  It  was  clear 
that  our  Second  Advanced  Camp  must  be  organised  on  a 
more  permanent  basis.  On  the  9th  therefore  I  went  down 
to  the  base  and  moved  it  up  on  the  following  day  so  as  to 
be  within  reach  of  our  present  position  by  one  long  march. 
The  new  place  greatly  pleased  me ;  it  was  much  more 
sheltered  than  the  lower  site  and  the  tents  were  pitched  on 
flat  turf  where  a  clear  spring  flowed  out  from  the  hiUside 
and  only  a  quarter  of  an  hour  below  the  end  of  the  glacier. 
Meanwhile  Bullock  brought    up    the  Whymper  tents  and 


THE  NORTHERN  APPROACH  209 

more  stores  from  the  First  Advanced  Camp,  which  was  now 
estabhshed  as  a  half-way  house  with  our  big  80-foot  tent 
standing  in  solemn  grandeur  to  protect  all  that  remained 
there.  On  July  10  I  was  back  at  the  Second  Advanced 
Camp  and  felt  satisfied  that  the  new  arrangements,  and 
particularly  the  presence  of  our  cook,  would  give  us  a  fair 
measure  of  comfort. 

But  we  were  still  unable  to  move  next  day.  The  snow- 
fall during  the  night  was  the  heaviest  we  had  yet  seen  and 
continued  into  the  next  day.  Probably  the  coohes  were 
not  sorry  for  a  rest  after  some  hard  work  ;  and  we  reckoned 
to  make  a  long  expedition  so  soon  as  the  weather  should 
clear.  Towards  evening  on  the  10th  the  clouds  broke. 
Away  to  the  South-west  of  us  and  up  the  glacier  was  the 
barrier  range  on  the  frontier  of  Nepal,  terminated  by  one 
great  mountain,  Pumori,  over  24,000  feet  high.  To  the 
West  Rongbuk  Glacier  they  present  the  steepest  slopes 
on  which  snow  can  lie  ;  the  crest  above  these  slopes  is 
surprisingly  narrow  and  the  peaks  which  it  joins  are 
fantastically  shaped.  This  group  of  mountains,  always 
beautiful  and  often  in  the  highest  degree  impressive,  was 
now  to  figure  for  our  eyes  as  the  principal  in  that  oft-repeated 
drama  which  seems  always  to  be  a  first  night,  fresh  and  full 
of  wonder  whenever  we  are  present  to  watch  it.  The  clinging 
curtains  were  rent  and  swirled  aside  and  closed  again,  lifted 
and  lowered  ^nd  flung  wide  at  last ;  sunlight  broke  through 
with  sharp  shadows  and  clean  edges  revealed — and  we  were 
there  to  witness  the  amazing  spectacle.  Below  the  terrible 
mountains  one  white  smooth  island  rose  from  the  quiet 
sea  of  ice  and  was  bathed  in  the  calm  full  Hght  of  the  Western 
sun  before  the  splendour    failed. 

With  hopes  inspired  by  the  clearing  views  of  this  lovely 
evening,  we  started  at  5.30  a.m.  on  July  12  to  follow  the 
glacier  round  to  the  South  and  perhaps  enter  the  Western 
cwm.  The  glacier  was  a  difficult  problem.  It  looked  easy 
enough  to  follow  up  the  medial  moraine  to  what  we  called 
the  Island,  a  low  mountain  pushed  out  from  the  frontier 

M.E.  P 


210    THE  HECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

ridge  into  the  great  sea  of  ice.  But  the  way  on  Southwards 
from  there  would  have  been  a  gamble  with  the  chances  of 
success  against  us.  We  decided  to  cross  the  glacier  directly 
to  the  South  with  a  certainty  that  once  we  had  reached 
the  moraine  on  the  other  side  we  should  have  a  clear  way 
before  us.  It  was  exhilarating  to  set  out  again  under  a 
clear  sky,  and  we  were  delighted  to  think  that  a  large  part 
of  this  task  was  accomplished  when  the  sun  rose  full  of 
warmth  and  cheerfulness.  The  far  side  was  cut  off  by  a 
stream  of  white  ice,  so  narrow  here  that  we  expected  with 
a  httle  good  fortune  to  get  through  it  in  perhaps  half  an 
hour.  We  entered  it  by  a  frozen  stream  leading  into  a 
bay  with  high  white  towers  and  ridges  above  us.  A  side 
door  led  through  into  a  further  bay  which  took  us  in  the 
confidence  of  success  almost  through  the  maze.  With 
some  vigorous  blows  we  cut  our  way  up  the  final  wall  and 
then  found  ourselves  on  a  crest  overlooking  the  moraine 
with  a  sheer  ice-precipice  of  about  100  feet  below  us. 

The  only  hope  was  to  come  down  again  and  work  round 
to  the  right.  Some  exciting  climbing  and  much  hard  work 
brought  us  at  length  to  the  foot  of  the  cliffs  and  on  the  right 
side.  The  performance  had  taken  us  two  and  a  half  hours 
and  it  was  now  nearly  ten  o'clock.  Clouds  had  already 
come  up  to  obscure  the  mountains,  and  from  the  point  of  view 
of  a  prolonged  exploration  the  day  was  clearly  lost.  Our 
course  now  was  to  make  the  best  of  it  and  yet  get  back  so 
early  to  camp  that  we  could  set  forth  again  on  the  following 
day.  We  had  the  interest,  after  following  the  moraine  to 
the  corner  where  the  glacier  bends  Southwards,  of  making 
our  way  into  the  middle  of  the  ice  and  finding  out  how 
unpleasant  it  can  be  to  walk  on  a  glacier  melted  everywhere 
into  little  vallej^s  and  ridges  and  covered  with  fresh  snow. 
We  got  back  at  3  p.m. 

On  July  13,  determined  to  make  good,  we  started  at 
4.15  a.m.  With  the  knowledge  gained  on  the  previous 
day  and  the  use  of  250  feet  of  spare  rope  we  were  able  to 
find  our  way  through  the  ice  pinnacles  and  reached  the  far 


;?5 


o    — 


THE  NORTHERN  APPROACH  211 

moraine  in  less  than  an  hour  and  a  half ;  and  we  had  the 
further  good  fortune  when  we  took  to  the  snow  to  find  it 
now  in  such  good  condition  that  we  were  able  to  walk  on 
the  surface  without  using  our  snow-shoes.  As  we  proceeded 
up  the  slopes  where  the  snow  steepened  the  weather  began 
to  thicken  and  we  halted  at  8  a.m.  in  a  thick  mist  with  a 
nasty  wind  and  some  snow  falling.  It  was  a  cold  halt. 
We  were  already  somewhat  disillusioned  about  our  glacier, 
which  seemed  to  be  much  more  narrow  than  was  to  be 
expected  if  it  were  really  a  high-road  to  the  Western  cwm, 
and  as  we  went  on  with  the  wind  blowing  the  snow  into 
our  faces  so  that  nothing  could  be  clearly  distinguished  we 
had  the  sense  of  a  narrowing  place  and  a  perception  of  the 
even  surface  being  broken  up  into  large  crevasses  on  one 
side  and  the  other.  At  9.30  we  could  go  no  further.  For 
a  few  hundred  yards  we  had  been  traversing  a  slope  which 
rose  above  us  on  our  left,  and  now  coming  out  on  to  a  little 
spur  we  stood  peering  down  through  the  mist  and  knew 
ourselves  to  be  on  the  edge  of  a  considerable  precipice.  Not 
a  single  feature  of  the  landscape  around  us  was  even  faintly 
visible  in  the  cloud.  For  a  time  we  stayed  on  with  the 
dim  hope  of  better  things  and  then  reluctantly  retired, 
baffled  and  bewildered. 

Where  had  we  been  ?  It  was  impossible  to  know  ;  but 
at  least  it  was  certain  there  was  no  clear  way  to  the  West 
side  of  Everest.  We  could  only  suppose  that  we  had  reached 
a  col  on  the  frontier  of  Nepal. 

A  further  disappointment  awaited  us  when  we  reached 
camp  at  1  p.m.  I  had  made  a  simple  plan  to  ensure  our 
supply  of  gobar*  and  rations  from  the  base  camp.  The 
suppUes  had  not  come  up  and  it  was  not  the  sort  of  weather 
to  be  without  a  fire  for  cooking. 

I  shall  now  proceed  to  quote  my  diary : — 

July  14.  —  A  day  of  rest,  but  with  no  rcpubHcan 
demonstrations.     Very  late   breakfast   after   some   snow  in 

*  In  the  Rongbuk  Valley  there  was  no  wood  and  our  supply  of  yak  dung 
had  to  come  up  from  Chobuk, 


212    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

the  night.  Piquet  after  tiffin  and  again  after  dinner 
was  very  consoHng.  The  little  streams  we  found  here  on 
our  arrival  are  drying  up  ;  it  seems  that  not  much  snow 
can  have  fallen  higher. 

July  15. — Started  6  a.m.  to  explore  the  glacier  to  West 
and  North-west.  A  very  interesting  view  just  short  of  the 
Island ;  the  South  peak  appearing.  Fifty  minutes  there 
for  photos  ;  then  hurried  on  in  the  hope  of  seeing  more 
higher  up  and  at  a  greater  distance.  It  is  reaUy  a  dry  glacier 
here  but  with  snow  frozen  over  the  surface  making  many 
pitfalls.  We  had  a  good  many  wettings  in  cold  water  up 
to  the  knees.  The  clouds  were  just  coming  up  as  we  halted 
on  the  medial  moraine.  I  waited  there  in  hope  of  better 
views,  while  Bullock  took  on  the  coohes.  They  put  on 
snow-shoes  for  the  first  time  and  seemed  to  go  very  well 
in  them.  Ultimately  I  struggled  across  the  glacier,  bearing 
various  burdens,  to  meet  them  as  they  came  down  on  a 
parallel  moraine.  Snow-shoes  seemed  useful,  but  very 
awkward  to  leap  in.  Bullock  went  a  long  way  up  the  glacier, 
rising  very  slightly  towards  the  peak  Cho-Uyo,  26,870  feet. 
Evidently  there  is  a  flat  pass  over  into  Nepal  near  this  peak, 
but  he  did  not  quite  reach  it. 

The  topographical  mystery  centres  about  the  West 
Peak.  Is  there  an  arete  connecting  this  with  the  great 
rock  peak  South  of  Everest  or  is  it  joined  up  with  the  col 
we  reached  the  day  before  yesterday  ?  The  shape  of  the 
West  cwm  and  the  question  of  its  exit  will  be  solved  if  we 
can  answer  these  questions.  Bullock  and  I  are  agreed 
that  the  glacier  there  has  probably  an  exit  on  the  Nepal 
side.  It  all  remains  extremely  puzzling.  We  saw  the 
North  col  quite  clearly  to-day,  and  again  the  way  up  from 
there  does  not  look  difficult. 

A  finer  day  and  quite  useful.  Chitayn  *  started  out  with 
us  and  went  back.  He  appears  to  be  seedy,  but  has  been 
quite  hopeless  as  Sirdar  down  in  the  base  camp  and  is  without 

*  A  useful  coolie  with  experience  in  the  Indian  Army.    I  had  used  him 
as  second  Sirdar. 


THE   NORTHERN  APPROACH  213 

authority.  It  is  a  great  handicap  having  no  one  to  look 
after  things  down  there.  Chitayn  is  retui'ning  to  Tingri 
to-morrow.     I  hope  he  wiU  cheer  up  again. 

July  16. — I  made  an  early  start  with  two  coohes  at 
2.45  a.m.  and  followed  the  medial  moraine  to  the  Island. 
Reached  the  near  summit  at  sunrise  about  5.30.  Difficult 
to  imagine  anything  more  exciting  than  the  clear  view  of 
aU  peaks.  Those  near  me  to  the  South-west  quickly  bathed 
in  sun  and  those  to  the  South  and  East  showing  me  their 
dark  faces.  To  the  left  of  our  col  of  July  13  a  beautiful 
sharp  peak  stood  in  front  of  the  gap  between  Everest  and 
the  North  Peak,  Changtse.  Over  this  col  I  saw  the  North- 
west buttress  of  Everest  hiding  the  lower  half  of  the  West 
face  which  must  be  a  tremendous  precipice  of  rock.  The 
last  summit  of  the  South  Peak,  Lhotse,  was  immediately 
behind  the  shoulder ;  to  the  right  (i.e.  West)  of  it  I  saw  a 
terrible  arete  stretching  a  long  distance  before  it  turned 
upwards  in  my  direction  and  towards  the  West  Peak.  This 
mountain  dropped  very  abruptly  to  the  North,  indicattng 
a  big  gap  on  the  far  side  of  our  col.  There  was  the  mysterious 
cwm  lying  in  cold  shadow  long  after  the  sun  warmed  me  ! 
But  I  now  half  understand  it.  The  col  under  the  North-west 
buttress  at  the  head  of  the  Rongbuk  Glacier  is  one  entrance, 
and  our  col  of  July  13,  with  how  big  a  drop  one  knows  not, 
another. 

I  stayed  till  7  a.m.  taking  photos,  a  dozen  plates  exposed 
in  all.  The  sky  was  heavy  and  a  band  of  cloud  had  come 
across  Everest  before  I  left. 

Back  to  breakfast  towards  9  a.m.  A  pleasant  morning 
collecting  flowers,  not  a  great  variety  but  some  dehcious 
honey  scents  and  an  occasional  cheerful  blue  poppy. 

July  17. — More  trouble  with  our  arrangements.  The 
Sirdar  has  muddled  the  rations  and  the  day  is  wasted. 
However,  the  weather  is  bad,  constant  snow  showers  from 
1  to  8  p.m.,  so  that  I  am  somewhat  reconciled  to  tliis  reverse. 

July  18. — Yesterday's  plan  carried  out — to  move  up  a 
camp  with  Ught  tents  and  make  a  big  push  over  into  the 


214    THE  RECONNAISSANCE  OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

West  cwm  ;  eight  cooHes  to  carry  the  loads.  But  the  loads 
have  been  too  heavy.  What  can  be  cut  out  next  time  ? 
I  cannot  see  many  unnecessary  articles.  Heavy  snow 
showers  fell  as  we  came  up  and  we  had  rather  a  cheerless 
encampment,  but  with  much  heaving  of  stones  made  good 
places  for  the  tents.  A  glorious  night  before  we  turned  in. 
Dark  masses  of  cloud  were  gathered  round  the  peak  above 
us  ;  below,  the  glacier  was  clear  and  many  splendid  mountains 
were  half  visible.  The  whole  scene  was  beautifully  ht  by 
a  bright  moon. 

July  19. — Started  3  a.m. ;  still  some  cloud,  particularly 
to  the  West.  The  moon  just  showed  over  the  mountains 
in  that  direction  which  cast  their  strange  black  shadows  on 
the  snowfield.  One  amazing  black  tooth  was  standing  up 
against  the  moonlight.  No  luck  on  the  glacier  and  we  had 
to  put  on  snow-shoes  at  once.  An  exciting  walk.  I  so 
much  feared  the  cloud  would  spoil  aU.  It  was  just  Hght 
enough  to  get  on  without  lanterns  after  the  moon  went 
down.  At  dawn  almost  everything  was  covered,  but  not 
by  heavy  clouds.  Like  guilty  creatures  of  darkness  surprised 
by  the  light  they  went  scattering  away  as  we  came  up  and 
the  whole  scene  opened  out.  The  North  ridge  of  Everest 
was  clear  and  bright  even  before  sunrise.  We  reached  the 
col  at  5  a.m.,  a  fantastically  beautiful  scene  ;  and  we  looked 
across  into  the  West  cwm  at  last,  terribly  cold  and  forbidding 
under  the  shadow  of  Everest.  It  was  nearly  an  hour  after 
sunrise  before  the  sun  hit  the  West  Peak. 

But  another  disappointment — it  is  a  big  drop  about 
1,500  feet  down  to  the  glacier,  and  a  hopeless  precipice.  I 
was  hoping  to  get  away  to  the  left  and  traverse  into  the 
cwm  ;  that  too  quite  hopeless.  However,  we  have  seen 
this  Western  glacier  and  are  not  sorry  we  have  not  to  go  up 
it.  It  is  terribly  steep  and  broken.  In  any  case  work  on 
this  side  could  only  be  carried  out  from  a  base  in  Nepal, 
so  we  have  done  with  the  Western  side.  It  was  not  a  very 
likely  chance  that  the  gap  between  Everest  and  the  South 
Peak  could  be  reached  from  the  West.     From  what  we  have 


THE  NORTHERN  APPROACH  216 

seen  now  I  do  not  much  fancy  it  would  be  possible,  even 
could  one  get  up  the  glacier. 

We  saw  a  lovely  group  of  mountains  away  to  the  South 
in  Nepal.  I  wonder  what  they  are  and  if  anytliing  is  known 
about  them.     It  is  a  big  world  ! 


With  this  expedition  on  July  19  our  reconnaissance  of 
these  parts  had  ended.  We  proceeded  at  once  to  move 
down  our  belongings  ;  on  July  20  all  tents  and  stores  were 
brought  down  to  the  base  camp  and  we  had  said  good-bye 
to  the  West  Rongbuk  Glacier. 

So  far  as  we  were  concerned  with  finding  a  way  up  the 
mountain,  little  enough  had  been  accomplished ;  and  yet 
our  growing  view  of  the  mountain  had  been  steadily  leading 
to  one  conviction.  If  ever  the  mountain  were  to  be  climbed, 
the  way  would  not  lie  along  the  whole  length  of  any  one 
of  its  colossal  ridges.  Progress  could  only  be  made  along 
comparatively  easy  ground,  and  anything  hke  a  prolonged 
sharp  crest  or  a  series  of  towers  would  inevitably  bar  the 
way  simply  by  the  time  which  would  be  required  to  overcome 
such  obstacles.  But  the  North  arete  commg  down  to  the 
gap  between  Everest  and  the  North  Peak,  Changtse,  is  not 
of  this  character.  From  the  horizontal  structure  of  the 
mountain  there  is  no  excrescence  of  rock  pmnacles  in  this 
part  and  the  steep  walls  of  rock  wliich  run  across  the  North 
face  are  merged  with  it  before  they  reach  this  part,  which 
is  comparatively  smooth  and  continuous,  a  bluntly  rounded 
edge.  We  had  still  to  see  other  parts  of  the  mountain, 
but  already  it  seemed  unhkely  that  we  would  find  more 
favourable  ground  than  this.  The  great  question  before 
us  now  was  to  be  one  of  access.  Could  the  North  col  be 
reached  from  the  East  and  how  could  we  attain  this  point  ? 

At  the  very  moment  when  we  reached  the  base  camp 
I  received  a  note  from  Colonel  Howard- Bury  tellmg  us  that 
his  departure  from  Tingri  was  fixed  for  July  23  and  that  he 
would  be  sleeping  at  Chobuk  in  the  valley  below  us  two 


216    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF   THE  MOUNTAIN 

days  later  on  his  way  to  KJiarta.     It  was  now  an  obvious 
plan  to  synchronise  our  movements  with  his. 

Besides  the  branch  which  we  had  already  explored  the 
Rongbuk   Glacier   has   yet   another   which   joins   the   main 
stream  from  the  East  about  10  miles  from  Everest.     It  had 
always  excited  our  curiosity,  and  I  now  proposed  to  explore 
it  in  the  initial  stages  of  a  journey  across  the  unknown  ridges 
and  valleys  which  separated  us  from  Kliarta.     I  calculated 
that  we  should  want  eight  days'  provisions,  and  that  we 
should  just  have  time  to  organise  a  camp  in  advance  and 
start  on  the  25th  with  a  selected  party,  sending  down  the 
rest  to  join  Howard-Bury.     And  it  was  an  integral  part 
of  the  scheme  that  on  one  of  the  intervening  days  I  should 
ascend  a  spur  to  the  North  of  the  glacier  where  we  proposed 
to  march  in  order  to  obtain  a  better  idea  of  this  country  to 
the  East.     But  we  were  now  in  the  thickest  of  the  monsoon 
weather ;    the  21st  and  22nd  were  both  wet  days  and  we 
woke  on  the  23rd  to  find  snow  aU  around  us  nearly  a  foot 
deep  ;    it  had  come  down  as  low  as   16,000  feet.     It  was 
hardly  the  weather  to  cut  ourselves  adrift  and  wander  among 
the  uncharted  spurs  of  Everest,  and  we  thought  of  delaying 
our  start.     Further  it  transpired  that  our  organisation  was 
not  running  smoothly — it  never  did  run  smootlily  so  long 
as  we  employed,  as  an  indispensable  Sirdar,  a  whey-faced 
treacherous   knave   whose   sly   and   calculated   villainy   too 
often,  before  it  was  discovered,  deprived  our  coolies  of  their 
food,    and     whose     acquiescence     in     his     own     illimitable 
incompetence  was   only  less  disgusting  than  his  infamous 
dupUcity.     It  was  the  hopeless  sense  that  tilings  were  bound 
to  go  wrong  if  we  trusted  to  this  man's  services — and  we  had 
no  one  else  at  that  time  through  whom  it  was  possible  to 
order  supphes  from  the  natives — that  turned  the  scale  and 
spoilt  the  plan.     Even  so,  in  the  natural  course  of  events, 
I  should  have  obtained  my  preliminary  view.     But  on  the 
night  of  the  22nd  I  received  from  Howard-Bury  an  extremely 
depressing  piece  of  news,  that  all  my  photos  taken  with  the 
quarter-plate    camera  had  failed — for  the  good  reason  that 


THE  NORTHERN  APPROACH 


217 


the  plates  had  been  inserted  back  to  front,  a  result  of  ignorance 
and  misunderstanding.  It  was  necessary  as  far  as  possible 
to  repair  this  hideous  error,  and  the  next  two  days  were 
spent  in  a  photographic  expedition.  And  so  it  came  about 
that  we  saw  no  more  until  a  much  later  date  of  the  East 
Rongbuk  Glacier.  Had  our  plan  been  carried  out  even  in 
the^^  smallest  part  by 

HighRocK 
Peak* 

on  June  Zf 


Observed^ 
Snowfield^'' 


»   -^ 


a  cursory  survey  of 
what  lay  ahead,  I 
should  not  now  have 
to  tell  a  story  which 
is  lamentably  incom- 
plete in  one  respect. 
For  the  East  Rong- 
buk Glacier  is  one 
way,  and  the  obvious 
way  when  you  see 
it,  to  the  North  Col. 
It  was  discovered  by 
Major  Wheeler  be- 
fore ever  we  saw  it, 
in  the  course  of  his 
photographic  sur- 
vey ;  but  neither  he, 
nor  Bullock,  nor  I 
have  ever  traversed 
its  whole  length. 

We  should  have 
attached  more  im- 
portance, no  doubt, 

in  the  early  stages  of  reconnaissance,  to  the  East  Rongbuk 
Glacier  had  we  not  been  deceived  in  two  ways  by  appearances. 
It  had  been  an  early  impression  left  in  my  mmd,  at  aU  events, 
by  what  we  saw  from  Shihng,  that  a  deep  valley  came  do^^^l 
to  the  East  as  the  R.G.S.  map  suggests,  di'ammg  into  the 
Arun  and  having  the  North-east  arete  of  Everest  as  its 
right  bank  at  the  start.     Fm'ther,  the  head  of  this  valley 


''Conjectured 
-'  Ridge 

Observed 

Valley 
NORTH  PEAK 


SUMMIT 


218    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

seemed  to  be,  as  one  would  expect,  the  gap  between  Everest 
and  the  first  peak  to  the  North  which  itself  has  also  an 
Eastern  arm  to  form  the  left  bank  of  such  a  valley.  The 
impression  was  confirmed  not  only  by  an  excellent  view 
from  a  hiU  above  Ponglet  (two  days  before  Tingri  and  about 
35  miles  North  of  Everest),  but  by  aU  nearer  and  more  recent 
views  of  the  mountains  East  of  the  Rongbuk  Glacier.  The 
idea  that  a  glacier  running  parallel  to  the  Rongbuk  started 
from  the  slopes  of  Everest  itself  and  came  so  far  to  turn 
Westward  in  the  end  hardly  occurred  to  us  at  this  time. 
From  anything  we  had  seen  there  was  no  place  for  such  a 
glacier,  and  it  was  almost  unimaginable  that  the  great 
mountam  range  running  North  from  the  North  Col,  Chang  La, 
was  in  no  part  a  true  watershed.  We  saw  the  East  Rongbuk 
Glacier  stretching  away  to  the  East  and  perceived  also  a 
bay  to  the  South.  But  how,  if  this  bay  were  of  any 
importance,  could  the  glacier  stream  be  so  small  ?  We 
had  found  it  too  large  to  cross,  it  is  true,  late  ia  the  afternoon 
of  our  first  expedition,  but  only  just  too  large ;  and  again  it 
seems  now  an  unbehevable  fact  that  so  large  an  area  of  ice 
should  give  so  small  a  volume  of  water.  The  glacier  streams 
are  remarkably  small  in  all  the  country  we  explored,  but 
this  one  far  more  surprisingly  small  than  any  other  we  saw. 
It  was  some  measure  of  consolation  in  these  ckcumstances 
to  make  use  of  a  gleam  of  fine  weather.  When  the  bad  news 
arrived  on  July  22  about  the  failure  of  my  photographs 
we  had  ceased  to  hear  the  raindrops  pattering  on  the  tent, 
but  could  feel  well  enough  when  we  pushed  up  the  roof 
that  snow  was  lying  on  the  outer  fly.  It  was  a  depressing 
evening.  I  thought  of  the  many  wonderful  occasions  when 
I  had  caught  the  mountain  as  I  thought  just  at  the  right 
moment,  its  moments  of  most  lovely  splendour — of  all  those 
moments  that  would  never  return  and  of  the  record  of  all 
we  had  seen  which  neither  ourselves  nor  perhaps  anyone 
else  would  ever  see. again.  I  was  not  a  cheerful  companion. 
Moreover,  from  the  back  of  my  mind  I  was  warned,  even 
in  the  first  despair  of  disappointment,  that  I  should  have 


.9   O 


THE  NORTHERN  APPROACH  219 

to  set  out  to  repair  the  damage  so  far  as  I  was  able,  and  I 
hated  the  thought  of  this  expedition.  These  were  our 
days  of  rest  after  a  month's  high-Uving ;  we  were  off  with 
one  adventure  and  on  with  another  ;  tents,  stores,  everything 
had  been  brought  down  to  our  base  and  we  had  said  good-bye 
to  the  West  Rongbuk  Glacier.  The  clouds  were  still  about 
us  next  morning  and  snow  lay  on  the  ground  9  inches  deep. 
But  by  midday  much  of  the  snow  had  melted  at  our  level 
and  the  clouds  began  to  clear.  At  2  p.m.  we  started  up 
with  the  Mummery  tents  and  stores  for  one  night.  I  made 
my  way  with  one  coolie  to  a  spot  some  Uttle  distance  above 
our  First  Advanced  Camp.  As  we  pushed  up  the  stormy 
hillside  the  last  clouds  gathered  about  Everest,  and  Hngering 
in  the  deep  North  cwm  were  dispersed  and  the  great  white- 
mantled  mountains  lay  all  clear  in  the  light  of  a  glorious 
evening.  Before  we  raced  down  to  join  Bullock  my  first 
dozen  plates  had  been  duly  exposed ;  whatever  the  balance 
of  hopes  and  fears  for  a  fine  morning  to-morrow  something 
had  been  done  already  to  make  good. 

My  ultimate  destination  was  the  Island  which  I  had 
found  before  to  command  some  of  the  most  splendid  and 
most  instructive  views.  I  was  close  up  under  the  slopes 
of  this  Uttle  mountain  before  sunrise  next  morning.  It 
has  rarely  been  my  lot  to  experience  in  the  course  of  a  few 
hours  so  much  variety  of  expectation,  of  disappointment 
and  of  hope  deferred,  before  the  issue  is  decided.  A  pall 
of  cloud  lying  Uke  a  blanket  above  the  glacier  was  no  good 
omen  after  the  clear  weather ;  as  the  sun  got  up  a  faint 
gleam  on  the  ice  encouraged  me  to  go  on  ;  presently  the 
grey  clouds  began  to  move  and  spread  in  all  directions  until 
I  was  enveloped  and  saw  nothing.  Suddenly  the  frontier 
crest  came  out  and  its  highest  peak  towermg  fantastically 
above  me  ;  I  turned  about  and  saw  to  the  West  and  North- 
west the  wide  glacier  in  the  sun — beyond  it  Gyachung  Kang 
and  Cho-Uyo,  26,870  to  25,990  feet :  but  Everest  remained 
hidden,  obsciu-ed  by  an  impenetrable  cloud.  I  watched 
the  changing  shadows  on  the  white  snow  and  gazed  helplessly 


220    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

into  the  grey  mass  continually  roUed  up  from  Nepal  into 
the  deep  hoUow  beyond  the  glacier  head.  But  a  breeze 
came  up  from  the  East ;  the  curtain  was  quietly  withdrawn  ; 
Everest  and  the  South  Peak  stood  up  against  the  clear  blue 
sky.  The  camera  was  ready  and  I  was  satisfied.  A  few 
minutes  later  the  great  cloud  rolled  back  and  I  saw  no  more. 

Meanwhile  Bullock  had  not  been  idle.  He  paid  a  visit 
to  the  North  cwm,  more  successful  than  mine  in  July,  for 
he  reached  the  pass  leading  over  into  Nepal  under  the  North- 
west arete  and  had  perfectly  clear  views  of  Chang  La,  of 
which  he  brought  back  some  valuable  photos.  But  perhaps 
an  even  greater  satisfaction  than  reckonmg  the  results  of 
what  we  both  felt  was  a  successful  day  was  ours,  when  we 
listened  in  our  tents  that  evening  at  the  base  camp  to  the 
growling  of  thunder  and  reflected  that  the  fair  interval 
aheady  ended  had  been  caught  and  turned  to  good  account. 

In  snow  and  sleet  and  wind  next  morning,  July  25,  our 
tents  were  struck.  We  turned  our  backs  on  the  Rongbuk 
Glacier  and  hastened  along  the  path  to  Chobuk.  The  valley 
was  somehow  changed  as  we  came  down,  and  more  agreeable 
to  the  eye.  Presently  I  discovered  the  reason.  The  grass 
had  grown  on  the  hillside  since  we  went  up.  We  were 
coming  down  to  summer  green. 


CHAPTER   XIV 
THE   EASTERN  APPROACH 

The  new  base  at  Kharta  established  by  Colonel  Howard- 
Bury  at  the  end  of  July  was  well  suited  to  meet  the  needs 
of  climbers,  and  no  less  agreeable,  I  believe,  to  all  members 
of  the  Expedition.  At  the  moderate  elevation  of  12,300  feet 
and  in  an  almost  ideal  chmate,  where  the  air  was  always 
warm  but  never  hot  or  stuffy,  where  the  sun  shone  brightly 
but  never  fiercely,  and  clouds  floated  about  the  hills  and 
brought  moisture  from  the  South,  but  never  too  much  rain, 
here  the  body  could  find  a  dehcious  change  when  tired  of 
the  discipline  of  high-living,  and  in  a  place  so  accessible 
to  traders  from  Nepal  could  easily  be  fed  with  fresh  food. 
But  perhaps  after  life  in  the  Rongbuk  Valley,  with  hardly 
a  green  thing  to  look  at  and  too  much  of  the  endless  unfriendly 
stone-shoots  and  the  ugly  waste  of  glaciers,  and  even  after 
visions  of  sublime  snow-beauty,  a  change  was  more  needed 
for  the  mind.  It  was  a  delight  to  be  again  in  a  land  of 
flowery  meadows  and  trees  and  crops  ;  to  look  into  the  deep 
green  gorge  only  a  mfle  away  where  the  Arun  goes  down 
into  Nepal  was  to  be  reminded  of  a  rich  vegetation  and 
teeming  life,  a  contrast  full  of  pleasure  with  Nature's 
niggardliness  in  arid,  wind-swept  Tibet ;  and  the  forgotten 
rustle  of  wind  in  the  ^viIlows  came  back  as  a  soothing  sound 
full  of  grateful  memories,  banishmg  the  least  thought  of 
disagreeable  things. 

The  Kliarta  base,  besides,  was  convenient  for  our  recon- 
naissance. Below  us  a  broad  glacier  stream  joined  the 
Arun  above  the  gorge ;  it  was  the  first  met  with  since  we 
had  left  the  Rongbuk  stream  ;  it  came  down  from  the  West 
and   therefore,    presumably,    from    Everest.      To    follow    it 

221 


222    THE  RECONNAISSANCE  OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

up  was  an  obvious  plan  as  the  next  stage  in  our  activities. 
After  four  clear  days  for  idleness  and  reorganisation  at 
Kharta  we  set  forth  again  on  August  2  with  this  object. 
The  valley  of  our  glacier  stream  would  lead  us,  we  supposed, 
to  the  mountain ;  in  two  days,  perhaps,  we  should  see 
Chang  La  ahead  of  us.  A  local  headman  provided  by  the 
Jongpen  and  entrusted  with  the  task  of  leading  us  to 
Chomolungma  would  show  us  where  it  might  be  necessary 
to  cross  the  stream  and,  in  case  the  vaUey  forked,  would 
ensiu-e  us  against  a  bad  mistake. 

The  start  on  this  day  was  not  propitious.  We  had 
enjoyed  the  sheltered  ease  at  Kharta ;  the  coolies  were 
dilatory  and  unwilling ;  the  distribution  of  loads  was 
muddled ;  there  was  much  discontent  about  rations,  and 
our  Sirdar  was  no  longer  trusted  by  the  men.  At  a  village 
where  we  stopped  to  buy  tsampa  some  3  miles  up  the  valley 
I  witnessed  a  curious  scene.  As  the  tsampa  was  sold  it 
had  to  be  measured.  The  Sirdar  on  his  knees  before  a  large 
pile  of  finely  ground  flour  was  ladling  it  into  a  bag  with  a 
disused  Quaker  Oats  tin.  Each  measure-full  was  counted 
by  all  the  coolies  standing  round  in  a  circle ;  they  were 
making  sure  of  having  their  full  ration.  Nor  was  this  all ; 
they  wanted  to  see  as  part  of  their  supplies,  not  only  tsampa 
and  rice,  but  tea,  sugar,  butter,  cooking  fat  and  meat  on 
the  Army  scale.  This  was  a  new  demand  altogether  beyond 
the  bargain  made  with  them.  The  point,  of  course,  had 
to  be  clearly  made,  that  for  their  so-called  luxuries  I  must 
be  trusted  to  do  my  best  with  the  surplus  money  (100  tankas 
or  thereabouts)  remaining  over  from  their  allowances  after 
buying  the  flour  and  rice.  These  luxury  supplies  were 
always  somewhat  of  a  difficulty  ;  the  coolies  had  been  very 
short  of  such  things  on  the  Northern  side — we  had  no  doubt 
that  some  of  the  ration  money  had  found  its  way  into  the 
Sirdar's  pockets.  It  would  be  possible,  we  hoped,  to  prevent 
this  happening  again.  But  even  so  the  matter  was  not 
simple.  What  the  coolies  wanted  was  not  always  to  be 
bought,  or  at  the  local  price  it  was  too  expensive.     On  this 


I'ETHANG-TSK. 


THE  EASTERN  APPROACH  223 

occasion  a  bountiful  supply  of  chillies  solved  our  difficulty. 
After  too  many  words,  and  not  all  in  the  best  temper, 
the  sight  of  so  many  of  the  red,  bright,  attractive  chillies 
prevailed ;  at  length  my  orders  were  obeyed  ;  the  coolies 
took  up  their  loads  and  we  started  off  again. 

With  so  much  dissatisfaction  in  the  air  it  was  necessary 
for  Bullock  and  me  to  drive  rather  than  lead  the  party. 
In  a  valley  where  there  are  many  individual  farms  and 
little  villages,  the  coolies'  path  is  well  beset  with  pitfalls 
and  with  gin.  Without  discipline  the  Sahib  might  easily 
find  himself  at  the  end  of  a  day's  march  with  perhaps  only 
half  his  loads.  It  was  a  slow  march  this  day  ;  we  had  barely 
accomplished  8  miles,  when  BuUock  and  I  with  the  hindmost 
came  round  a  shoulder  on  the  right  bank  about  4  p.m.  and 
found  the  tents  pitched  on  a  grassy  shelf  and  looking  up  a 
valley  where  a  stream  came  in  from  our  left.  The  Tibetan 
headman  and  his  Tibetan  coolies  who  were  carrpng  some  of 
our  loads  had  evidently  no  intention  of  going  further,  and 
after  some  argument  I  was  content  to  make  the  stipulation 
that  if  the  coolies  (our  own  as  well  as  the  Tibetans)  chose 
to  encamp  after  half  a  day's  march,  they  should  do  a 
double  march  next  day. 

The  prospect  was  far  from  satisfactory  :  we  were  at  a 
valley  junction  of  which  we  had  heard  tell,  and  the  headman 
pointed  the  way  to  the  left.  Here  indeed  was  a  valley, 
but  no  glacier  stream.  It  was  a  pleasant  green  nullah  covered 
with  rhododendrons  and  juniper,  but  presented  nothing 
that  one  may  expect  of  an  important  valley.  Moreover, 
so  far  as  I  could  learn,  there  were  no  villages  in  this  direction  : 
I  had  counted  on  reaching  one  that  night  with  the  intention 
of  buying  provisions,  more  particularly  goats  and  butter. 
Where  were  we  going  and  what  should  we  find  ?  The  headman 
announced  that  it  would  take  us  five  more  days  to  reach 
Chomolungma  :  he  was  told  that  he  must  bring  us  there 
in  two,  and  so  the  matter  was  left. 

If  the  coolies  behaved  badly  on  this  first  day,  they 
certainly  made  up  for  it  on  the  second.     The  bed  of  the 


224    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

little  vaUey  which  we  now  followed  rose  steeply  ahead  of 
us,  and  the  path  along  the  hill  slopes  on  its  left  bank  soon 
took  us  up  beyond  the  rhododendrons.  We  came  at  last 
for  a  mid-day  halt  to  the  shores  of  a  lake.  It  was  the  first 
I  had  seen  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Everest ;  a  little  blue 
lake,  perhaps  600  yards  long,  set  on  a  flat  shelf  up  there 
among  the  clouds  and  rocks,  a  sympathetic  place  harbouring 
a  wealth  of  little  rock  plants  on  its  steep  banks  ;  and  as 
our  present  height  by  the  aneroid  was  little  less  than  17,000 
feet,  we  were  assured  that  on  this  Eastern  side  of  Everest 
we  should  find  Nature  in  a  gentler  mood.  But  we  were 
not  satisfied  with  our  direction  ;  we  were  going  too  much 
to  the  South.  Tln'ough  the  mists  we  had  seen  nothing  to 
help  us.  For  a  few  moments  some  crags  had  appeared  to 
the  left  looming  surprisingly  big  ;  but  that  was  our  only 
peep,  and  it  told  us  nothing.  Perhaps  from  the  pass  ahead 
of  us  we  should  have  better  fortune. 

At  the  Langma  La  when  we  reached  it  we  found  ourselves 
to  be  well  4,000  feet  above  our  camp  of  the  previous  night. 
We  had  followed  a  track,  but  not  always  a  smooth  one, 
and  as  we  stayed  in  hopes  of  a  clearing  view,  I  began  to 
wonder  whether  the  Tibetan  coolies  would  manage  to  arrive 
with  their  loads  ;  they  were  notably  less  strong  than  our 
Sherpas  and  yet  had  been  burdened  with  the  wet  heavy 
tents.  Meanwhile  we  saw  nothing  above  our  owti  height. 
We  had  hoped  that  once  our  col  was  crossed  we  should 
bear  more  directly  Westward  again  ;  but  the  Tibetan  headman 
when  he  came  up  with  good  news  of  his  coolies,  pointed 
our  way  across  a  deep  valley  below  us,  and  the  direction 
of  his  pointing  was  nearly  due  South.  Everest,  we  imagined, 
must  be  nearly  due  West  of  Kharta,  and  our  direction  at 
the  end  of  this  second  day  by  a  rough  dead  reckoning  would 
be  something  like  South-west.  We  were  more  than  ever 
mystified.  Fortunately  our  difficulties  with  the  coolies 
seemed  to  be  ended.  Two  of  our  own  men  stayed  at  the 
pass  to  relieve  the  Tibetans  of  the  tents  and  bring  them 
quickly  on.     Grumblings  had  subsided  in  friendhness,    and 


THE   EASTERN  APPROACH  225 

all  marched  splendidly  on  this  day.  They  were  undepressed 
with  the  gloomy  circumstance  of  again  encamping  in  the 
rain. 

In  the  Sahibs'  tent  that  night  there  took  place  a  long 
and  fragmentary  conversation  with  the  headman,  our  Sirdar 
acting  as  interpreter.  We  gained  one  piece  of  information  : 
there  were  two  Chomolungmas.  It  was  not  difficult  to 
guess  that,  if  Everest  were  one,  the  other  must  be  Makalu. 
We  asked  to  be  guided  to  the  furthest  Chomolungma. 

The  morning  of  August  4  was  not  more  favourable  to 
our  reconnaissance.  We  went  down  steeply  to  the  valley 
bed,  crossed  a  stream  and  a  rickety  bridge,  and  wound  on 
through  lovely  meadows  and  much  dwarf  rhododendron 
till  we  came  to  the  end  of  a  glacier  and  mounted  by  its  left 
bank.  Towards  mid- day  the  weather  showed  signs  of  clearing  ; 
suddenly  on  our  left  across  the  glacier  we  saw  gigantic 
precipices  looming  through  the  clouds.  We  guessed  they 
must  belong  in  some  way  to  Makalu.  We  were  told  that 
this  was  the  first  Chomolungma,  while  the  valley  we  were 
now  following  would  lead  us  to  the  other.  It  was  easy  to 
conclude  that  one  valley,  this  one,  must  come  up  on  the 
North  side  of  IMakalu  all  the  way  to  Everest.  But  we  saw 
no  more.  In  a  few  moments  the  grey  clouds  blowing  swiftly 
up  from  below  had  enveloped  us,  rain  began  to  fall  heavily, 
and  when  eventually  we  came  to  broad  meadows  above 
the  glaciers,  where  yaks  were  grazing  and  Tibetan  tents 
were  pitched,  we  were  content  to  stop.  At  least  we  should 
have  the  advantage  here  of  good  butter  and  cream  from 
this  dairy  farm.  There  was  indeed  no  point  in  going  farther  ; 
we  had  no  desire  to  run  our  heads  against  the  East  face 
of  Everest ;   we  must  now  wait  for  a  view. 

The  weather  signs  were  decidedly  more  hopeful  as  I 
looked  out  of  our  tent  next  morning,  and  we  decided  at 
once  to  spend  the  day  in  some  sort  of  reconnaissance  up 
the  valley.  Presently  away  at  the  head  of  it  we  saw  the 
clouds  breaking  about  the  mountain-sides.  Everest  itself 
began  to  clear  ;  the  great  North-east  arete  came  out,  cutting 

M.E.  Q 


226    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

the  sky  to  the  right ;  and  little  by  little  the  whole  Eastern 
face  was  revealed  to  us. 

As  I  recall  now  our  first  impression  of  the  amazing  scenery 
around  us,  I  seem  chiefly  to  remember  the  fresh  surprise 
and  vivid  delight  which,  for  all  we  had  seen  before,  seemed 
a  new  sensation.  Even  the  map  of  the  Kama  VaUey,  now 
that  we  have  it,  may  stir  the  imagination.  Besides  Everest 
itself  the  crest  of  the  South  Peak,  28,000  feet  high,  and 
its  prodigious  South-east  shoulder  overlook  the  Western 
end ;  while  Makalu,  12  miles  from  Everest,  thrusts  out 
Northwards  a  great  arm  and  another  peak  to  choke  the 
exit ;  so  that  whereas  the  frontier  ridge  from  Everest  to 
Makalu  goes  in  a  South-easterly  direction,  the  Kangshung 
Glacier  in  the  main  valley  runs  nearly  due  East.  In  this 
spacious  manner  three  of  the  five  highest  summits  in  the 
world  overlook  the  Kama  VaUey. 

And  we  now  saw  a  scene  of  magnificence  and  splendour 
even  more  remarkable  than  the  facts  suggest.  Among 
aU  the  mountains  I  have  seen,  and,  if  we  may  judge  by 
photographs,  all  that  ever  have  been  seen,  Makalu  is  incom- 
parable for  its  spectacular  and  rugged  grandeur.  It  was 
significant  to  us  that  the  astonishing  precipices  rising  above 
us  on  the  far  side  of  the  glacier  as  we  looked  across  from 
our  camp,  a  terrific  awe-inspiring  sweep  of  snow-bound 
rocks,  were  the  sides  not  so  much  of  an  individual  mountain, 
but  rather  of  a  gigantic  bastion  or  outwork  defending  Makalu. 
At  the  broad  head  of  the  Kama  Valley  the  two  summits 
of  Everest  are  enclosed  between  the  North-east  arete  and 
the  South-east  arete  bending  round  from  the  South  Peak  ; 
below  them  is  a  basin  of  tumbled  ice  well  marked  by  a 
number  of  moraines  and  receiving  a  series  of  tributaries 
pouring  down  between  the  buttresses  which  support  the 
mountain  faces  in  this  immense  cirque.  Perhaps  the 
astonishing  charm  and  beauty  here  lie  in  the  complications 
half  hidden  behind  a  mask  of  apparent  simplicity,  so  that 
one's  eye  never  tires  of  following  up  the  lines  of  the  great 
aretes,  of  following  down  the  arms  pushed  out  from  their 


THE   EASTERN  APPROACH  227 

great  shoulders,  and  of  following  along  the  broken  edge 
of  the  hanging  glacier  covering  the  upper  half  of  this  Eastern 
face  of  Everest  so  as  to  determine  at  one  point  after  another 
its  relation  with  the  buttresses  below  and  with  their  abut- 
ments against  the  rocks  which  it  covers.  But  for  me  the 
most  magnificent  and  subUme  in  mountain  scenery  can 
be  made  lovelier  by  some  more  tender  touch  ;  and  that,  too, 
is  added  here.  When  all  is  said  about  Chomolungma,  the 
Goddess  Mother  of  the  World,  and  about  Chomo  Uri,  the 
Goddess  of  the  Turquoise  Mountain,  I  come  back  to  the 
valley,  the  valley  bed  itself,  the  broad  pastures,  where  our 
tents  lay,  where  cattle  grazed  and  where  butter  was  made, 
the  little  stream  we  followed  up  to  the  valley  head,  wandering 
along  its  well-turfed  banks  under  the  high  moraine,  the 
few  rare  plants,  saxifrages,  gentians  and  primulas,  so  well 
watered  there,  and  a  soft,  familiar  blueness  in  the  air  which 
even  here  may  charm  us.  Though  I  bow  to  the  goddesses 
I  cannot  forget  at  their  feet  a  gentler  spirit  than  theirs,  a 
little  shy  perhaps,  but  constant  in  the  changing  winds  and 
variable  moods  of  mountains  and  always  friendly. 

The  deviation  from  our  intended  line  of  approach  involved 
by  entering  the  Kama  Valley  was  not  one  which  we  were 
likely  to  regret.  In  so  far  as  our  object  was  to  follow  up 
a  glacier  to  the  North  Col  we  were  now  on  the  wTong  side 
of  a  watershed.  A  spur  of  mountains  continues  Eastwards 
from  the  foot  of  Everest's  North-east  arete ;  these  were 
on  our  right  as  we  looked  up  the  Kama  Valley ;  the  glacier 
of  our  quest  must  lie  on  the  far  side  of  them.  But  the  pursuit 
of  this  glacier  was  not  our  sole  object.  We  had  also  to 
examine  both  the  East  face  and  North-east  arete  of  our 
mountain  and  determine  the  possibilities  of  attack  on  this 
side.  A  plan  was  now  made  to  satisfy  us  in  all  ways.  We 
chose  as  our  objective  a  conspicuous  snowy  summit,  Carpo-ri, 
on  the  watershed  and  apparently  the  second  to  the  East 
from  the  foot  of  the  North-east  arete.  Could  we  chmb  it 
we  should  not  only  see  over  into  the  valley  North  of  us  and 
up  to  Chang  La  itself,  we  hoped,  but  also  examine,  from 


228    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

the  point  most  convenient  for  judging  the  steepness  of  its 
slopes,  the  whole  of  the  Eastern  side  of  Mount  Everest. 

On  August  6  the  Whymper  tents  were  taken  up,  and 
a  camp  was  made  under  a  moraine  at  about  17,500  feet, 
where  a  stream  flows  quietly  through  a  flat  space  before 
plunging  steeply  down  into  the  vaUey.  In  this  sheltered 
spot  we  bid  defiance  to  the  usual  snowstorm  of  the  afternoon  ; 
perhaps  as  night  came  on  and  snow  was  still  falUng  we 
were  vaguely  disquieted,  but  we  refused  to  beheve  in  anything 
worse  than  the  heavens'  passing  spite,  and  before  we  put 
out  our  candles  the  weather  cleared.  We  went  out  into 
the  keen  air ;  it  was  a  night  of  early  moons.  Mounting  a 
little  rise  of  stones  and  faintly  crunching  under  our  feet 
the  granular  atoms  of  fresh  fallen  snow  we  were  already 
aware  of  some  unusual  lovehness  in  the  moment  and  the 
scenes.  We  were  not  kept  waiting  for  the  supreme  effects  ; 
the  curtain  was  withdrawn.  Rising  from  the  bright  mists 
Mount  Everest  above  us  was  immanent,  vast,  incalculable — 
no  fleeting  apparition  of  elusive  dream-form  :  nothing  could 
have  been  more  set  and  permanent,  stedfast  like  Keats' s 
star,  "  in  lone  splendour  hung  aloft  the  night,"  a  watcher 
of  all  the  nights,  diffusing,  it  seemed  universally,  an  exalted 
radiance. 

It  is  the  property  of  all  that  is  most  sublime  in  mountain 
scenery  to  be  uniquely  splendid,  or  at  least  to  seem  so,  and 
it  is  commonly  the  fate  of  the  sublime  in  this  sort  very  soon 
to  be  mixed  with  what  is  trivial.  Not  infrequently  we  had 
experience  of  wonderful  moments ;  it  is  always  exciting 
to  spend  a  night  under  the  stars.  And  such  a  situation 
may  be  arranged  quite  comfortably  ;  lying  with  his  head 
but  just  within  the  tent  a  man  has  but  to  stir  in  his  sleep 
to  see,  at  aU  events,  half  the  starry  sky.  Then  perhaps 
thoughts  come  tumbling  from  the  heavens  and  sUp  in  at 
the  tent-door  ;  his  dozing  is  an  ecstasy :  until,  at  length, 
the  alarm-watch  sounds ;  and  after  ?  .  .  .  Mean  con- 
siderations din  it  aU  away,  all  that  delight.  On  the  morning 
of  August  7  the  trivial,  with  us,  preponderated.     Something 


THE   EASTERN  APPROACH  229 

more  than  the  usual  inertia  reigned  in  our  frozen  camp 
at  2  a.m.  The  cook  was  feeling  unwell ;  the  cooHes  prolonged 
their  minutes  of  grace  after  the  warning  shout,  daUied 
with  the  thought  of  meeting  the  cold  air,  procrastinated, 
drew  the  blankets  more  closely  round  them,  and — snored 
once  more.  An  expedition  over  the  snow  to  the  outlying 
tents  by  a  half -clad  Sahib,  who  expects  to  enjoy  at  least 
the  advantage  of  withdrawing  himself  at  the  last  moment 
from  the  friendly  down-bag,  is  calculated  to  disturb  the 
recumbency  of  others  ;  and  a  kick-off  in  this  manner  to 
the  day's  work  is  at  all  events  exhilarating.  The  task  of 
extricating  our  frozen  belongings,  where  they  lay  and  ought 
not  to  have  lain,  was  performed  with  alacrity  if  not  with 
zeal ;  feet  did  not  loiter  over  sUppery  boulders  as  we  mounted 
the  moraine,  and  in  spite  of  the  half-hour  lost,  or  gained, 
we  were  well  up  by  sunrise.  Even  before  the  first  glimmer 
of  dawn  the  snow-mantled,  slumbering  monsters  around 
us  had  been  somehow  touched  to  life  by  a  faint  blue  light 
showing  their  form  and  presence — a  hght  that  changed 
as  the  day  grew  to  a  pale  yellow  on  Everest  and  then  to  a 
bright  blue-grey  before  it  flamed  all  golden  as  the  sun  hit 
the  summit  and  the  shadow  crept  perceptibly  down  the 
slope  until  the  whole  mountain  stood  bare  and  splendid 
in  the  morning  glory.  With  some  premonition  of  what 
was  in  store  for  us  we  had  already  halted  to  enjoy  the  scene, 
and  I  was  able  to  observe  exactly  how  the  various  ridges 
and  summits  caught  the  sun.  It  was  remarkable  that  while 
Everest  was  never,  for  a  moment,  pink,  Makalu  was  tinged 
with  the  redder  shades,  and  the  colour  of  the  sky  in  that 
direction  was  a  livid  Chinese  blue  red-flushed.  Its  bearing 
from  us  was  about  South-east  by  South,  and  its  distance 
nearly  twice  that  of  Everest,  which  lay  chiefly  to  the  South- 
west. 

Tlie  first  crux  of  the  expedition  before  us  would  evidently 
be  the  ascent  of  a  steep  wall  up  to  the  conspicuous  col  lyuig 
East  of  our  mountam.  The  least  laborious  way  was  offered 
by  an   outcrop   of  rocks.     The   obstacle   looked  decidedly 


230    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

formidable  and  the  coolies  had  little  or  no  experience  of 
rock-climbing.  But  it  proved  a  pleasure  reminiscent  of 
many  good  moments  once  again  to  be  grasping  firm  granite 
and  to  be  encouraging  novices  to  tread  dehcately  by  throwing 
down  an  occasional  stone  to  remind  them  of  the  perils  of 
clumsy  movements.  The  coolies,  as  usual,  were  apt  pupils, 
and  after  agreeable  exertions  and  one  gymnastic  performance 
we  aU  reached  the  col  at  9  a.m.  with  no  bleeding  scalps. 

We  had  already  by  this  hour  taken  time  to  observe 
the  great  Eastern  face  of  Mount  Everest,  and  more  particularly 
the  lower  edge  of  the  hanging  glacier  ;  it  required  but  little 
further  gazing  to  be  convinced — to  know  that  almost  every- 
where the  rocks  below  must  be  exposed  to  ice  faUing  from 
this  glacier  ;  that  if,  elsewhere,  it  might  be  possible  to  cHmb 
up,  the  performance  would  be  too  arduous,  would  take 
too  much  time  and  would  lead  to  no  convenient  platform  ; 
that,  in  short,  other  men,  less  wise,  might  attempt  this 
way  if  they  would,  but,  emphaticaUy,  it  was  not  for  us. 

Our  interest  was  rather  in  the  other  direction.  We  had 
now  gained  the  watershed.  Below  us  on  the  far  side  was 
a  glacier  flowing  East,  and  beyond  it  two  important  rock 
peaks,  which  we  at  once  suspected  must  be  two  triangulated 
points  each  above  23,000  feet.  Was  this  at  last  the  valley 
observed  so  long  ago  from  the  hill  above  Shfling,  more 
than  50  miles  away,  to  point  up  towards  the  gap  between 
Changtse  and  Everest  ?  As  yet  we  could  not  say.  The 
head  of  the  glacier  was  out  of  sight  behind  the  Northern 
slopes  of  our  mountain.  We  must  ascend  further,  probably 
to  its  summit,  to  satisfy  our  curiosity — to  see,  we  hoped, 
Changtse  and  its  relation  to  this  glacier,  and  perhaps  the 
Chang  La  of  our  quest. 

The  task  before  us  was  not  one  which  had  suggested 
from  a  distant  view  any  serious  difficulties.  The  angle  of 
sight  from  our  breakfast-place  on  the  col  to  the  next  white 
summit  West  of  us  was  certainly  not  very  steep.  But  no 
continuous  ridge  would  lead  us  upwards.  The  East  face 
in  front  of  us  and  the  South  face  to  our  left  presented  two 


|_     s^ 


:i    o 
::^    6 


THE   EASTERN   APPROACH  231 

bands  of  fortification,  crowned  each  by  a  fiat  emplacement 
receding  a  considerable  distance,  before  the  final  cone.  We 
knew  already  that  the  snow's  surface,  despite  a  thin  crust, 
could  not  hold  us,  and  counted  on  snow-shoes  to  save  labour 
at  the  gentler  angles.  But  the  escarpments  in  front  of  us 
were  imposing.  The  first  yielded  to  a  frontal  attack  pushed 
home  with  a  proper  after-breakfast  vigour.  The  second 
when  we  reached  it  was  a  more  formidable  obstacle.  The 
steepness  of  the  Eastern  slope  was  undeniable  and  forbidding 
and  the  edge  of  its  junction  with  the  South  side  was  defined 
by  a  cornice.     On  that  side,  however,  lay  the  only  hope. 

We  had  first  to  traverse  a  broad  gully.  The  powdery 
snow  lay  deep  ;  we  hesitated  on  the  brink.  Here,  if  any- 
where, the  unmelted  powdery  substance  was  Hkely  to 
avalanche.  Confidence  was  restored  in  sufficient  measure 
by  contemplating  an  island  of  rock.  Here  lay  a  solution. 
By  the  aid  of  its  sound  anchorage  the  party  was  secured 
across  the  dangerous  passage.  With  his  rope  adequately 
belayed  by  a  coohe,  though  the  manner  was  hardly  pro- 
fessional, the  leader  hewed  at  the  cornice  above  his  head, 
fixed  a  fist-and-axe  hold  in  the  crest  and  struggled  over. 
Such  performances  are  not  accomplished  at  heights  above 
20,000  feet  without  the  feeling  that  something  has  been 
done.  Appearances  suggested  the  necessity  of  estabhshmg 
the  whole  party  firmly  above  the  cornice  before  proceeding 
many  steps  upward,  and  the  first  man  had  the  diversion 
of  observing  at  his  leisure  the  ungraceful  attitudes  and 
explosive  grunts  of  men  strong  indeed,  but  unaccustomed 
to  meet  this  kind  of  obstacle.  But  with  the  usual  menace 
of  clouds,  which  even  now  were  filling  the  head  of  the  Kama 
Valley,  it  was  no  season  for  delay ;  and  it  was  no  place  to 
be  treated  hghtly.  The  angle  was  quite  as  steep  as  we 
liked ;  on  the  slopes  to  our  left  again  we  should  evidently 
be  exposed  to  the  danger  of  an  avalanche.  It  was  necessary 
to  avoid  treading  on  our  frail  cornice  and  no  less  important 
to  keep  near  the  edge.  Here  a  foot  of  powdery  snow  masked 
a  disintegrated  substance  of  loose  ice.     Notliing  less  than 


232    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

a  vigorous  swinging  blow  had  any  other  effect  than  to  bury 
the  pick  and  require  a  fourfold  effort  to  pull  it  out  again. 
Luckily  one  or  even  two  such  blows  usually  sufficed  to  make 
a  firm  step.  But  400  feet  of  such  work  seemed  an  ample 
quantity.  If  was  a  relief  at  length  to  reach  level  snow,  to 
don  our  rackets  again  and  to  foUow  a  coohe  bursting  with 
energy  now  sent  first  to  tread  a  path.  At  12.15  p.m.  we 
reached  the  far  edge  of  this  flat  shoulder  lying  under  the 
final  slopes  of  our  mountain  and  at  the  most  500  feet  below 
the  summit. 

No  one  without  experience  of  the  problem  could  guess 
how  difficult  it  may  be  to  sit  down  on  a  perfectly  flat  place 
with  snow-shoes  strapped  to  the  feet.  To  squat  is  clearly 
impossible  ;  and  if  the  feet  are  pushed  out  in  front  the 
projection  behind  the  heel  tends  to  tilt  the  body  backwards 
so  that  the  back  is  strained  in  the  mere  effort  to  sit  without 
falluig.  The  remedy  of  course  is  to  take  off  the  snow-shoes  ; 
but  the  human  mountaineer  after  exhausting  efforts  is  too 
lazy  for  that  at  an  elevation  of  21,000  feet.  He  prefers  not 
to  sit ;  he  chooses  to  lie — in  the  one  convenient  posture 
under  the  circumstances — flat  upon  his  back  and  with 
his  toes  and  snow-shoes  turned  vertically  upwards.  On 
this  occasion  the  majority  of  the  party  without  more  ado 
turned  up  their  toes. 

The  situation,  however,  was  one  of  the  greatest  interest. 
We  were  still  separated  from  Mount  Everest  by  a  spur 
at  our  own  height  turning  Northwards  from  the  foot  of  the 
North-east  arete  and  by  the  bay  enclosed  between  this  and 
its  continuation  Eastward  to  which  our  mountain  belonged. 
But  the  distance  from  the  North-east  arete  was  small  enough 
and  we  were  now  looking  almost  directly  up  its  amazing 
crest.  If  any  doubts  remained  at  this  time  as  to  that  line 
of  attack,  they  now  received  a  cowp  de  grace.  Not  only  was 
the  crest  itself  seen  to  be  both  sharp  and  steep,  suggesting 
an  almost  infinite  labour,  but  the  slopes  on  either  hand 
appeared  in  most  places  an  impracticable  alternative ; 
and  leading  up  to  the  great  rock  towers  of  the  North-east 


THE  EASTERN  APPROACH  233 

shoulder,  the  final  section,  the  point  of  a  cruel  siclde,  appeared 
effectually  to  bar  further  progress  should  anyone  have  been 
content  to  spend  a  week  or  so  on  the  lower  parts.  To  discern 
so  much  required  no  prolonged  study ;  to  the  right  (North) 
the  country  was  more  intricate.  The  summit  of  Changtse 
was  eventually  revealed,  as  the  clouds  cleared  off,  beyond, 
apparently  a  long  way  beyond,  the  crest  of  the  spur  in  front 
of  us.  To  the  extreme  right,  looking  past  the  final  slopes 
of  the  white  cone  above  us  was  a  more  elevated  skyline  and 


23800 


NORTH 
COL 

(CHANG -LA) 


DIAGRAM   SHOWING   THAT   THE    KHARTA    GLACIER    DOES   NOT 
LEAD   TO   THE   NORTH   COL. 


below  it  the  upper  part  of  the  glacier,  the  lower  end  of  which 
we  had  seen  earHer  in  the  day  descending  Eastward.  But 
its  extreme  limit  was  not  quite  visible.  We  had  still  to 
ask  the  question  as  to  where  exactly  it  lay.  Could  this 
glacier  conceivably  proceed  in  an  almost  level  course  up 
to  Chang  La,  itself  ?  Or  was  it  cut  off  much  nearer  to  us 
by  the  high  skyUne  which  we  saw  beyond  it  ?  Was  it 
possible,  as  in  the  second  case  must  be,  that  this  sky- 
line was  continuous  with  the  East  arete  of  Changtse,  the 
whole  forming  the  left  bank  of  the  glacier  ?  If  no  answer 
was  absolutely  certain,  the  probability  at  least  was  all  on 


234    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

one  side — on  the  wrong  side  alike  for  our  present  and  our 
future  plans.  We  could  hardly  doubt  that  the  glacier-head 
lay  not  far  away  under  Chang  La,  but  here  near  at  hand 
under  another  col ;  beyond  this  must  be  the  glacier  of  our 
quest,  turning  East,  as  presumably  it  must  turn  beyond 
the  skyline  we  saw  now,  and  beyond  the  rock  peaks  which 
we  had  observed  to  the  North  of  us  when  first  we  reached  the 
watershed. 

One  more  effort  was  now  required  so  that  we  might  see 
a  httle  more.  Chang  La  itself  was  still  invisible.  Might  we 
not  see  it  from  the  summit  of  our  mountain  ?  And  was 
it  not  in  any  case  an  attractive  summit  ?  An  examination 
of  the  various  pairs  of  upturned  toes  where  the  prostrate 
forms  were  still  grouped  grotesquely  in  the  snow  was  not 
encouraging.  But  the  most  vigorous  of  the  coolies  was 
with  us,  Nyima,  a  sturdy  boy  of  eighteen,  who  from  the  very 
start  of  the  Expedition  had  consistently  displayed  a  willing 
spirit  in  every  emergency.  To  my  demand  for  volunteers 
he  responded  immediately,  and  soon  persuaded  a  second 
cooHe,  Dasno,  who  had  been  going  very  strongly  on  this 
day,  to  accompany  him.  As  the  tliree  of  us  started  off 
the  clouds  suddenly  boiled  up  from  below  and  enveloped 
us  completely.  A  few  minutes  brought  us  to  the  foot  of 
the  steepest  slopes  ;  we  took  off  our  snow-shoes  and  crossed 
a  bergschrund,  wading  up  to  our  thighs.  Dasno  had  already 
had  enough  and  fell  out.  But  the  conical  shape  of  our 
peak  was  just  sufficiently  irregular  to  offer  a  defined  blunt 
edge  where  two  surfaces  intersected.  Even  here  the  snow 
was  deep  enough  to  be  a  formidable  obstacle  at  that  steep 
angle ;  but  the  edge  was  safe  from  avalanches.  As  we 
struggled  on  I  glanced  repeatedly  away  to  the  left.  Presently 
through  a  hole  in  the  clouds  all  was  clear  for  a  moment 
to  the  West ;  again  I  saw  Changtse,  and  now  my  eyes 
followed  the  line  of  its  arete  descending  towards  Everest 
until  the  col  itself  was  visible  over  the  spur  in  front  of  us. 
The  view  was  little  enough  ;  the  mere  rim  appeared ;  the 
wall  or  the  slopes  below  it,  all  that  I  most  wanted  to  see. 


THE  EASTERN  APPROACH  235 

remained  hidden.  We  struggled  on  to  the  top,  in  all  nearly 
an  hour's  work  of  the  most  exhausting  kind.  The  reward 
was  in  the  beauty  pt  the  spot,  the  faintly-defined  edges  of 
clean  snow  and  the  convex  surfaces  bent  slightly  back  from 
the  steepness  on  every  side  to  form  the  most  graceful  summit 
I  have  seen.  To  the  North-east  we  saw  clearly  for  a  minute 
down  the  glacier.  The  rest  was  cloud,  a  thin  veil,  but  all 
too  much,  inexorably  hiding  from  us  Changtse  and  Chang  La. 

A  disappointment  ?  Perhaps.  But  that  sort  of  suffering 
cannot  be  prolonged  in  a  mind  sufficiently  interested. 
Possibly  it  is  never  a  genuine  emotion  ;  rather  an  automatic 
reaction  after  too  sanguine  hopes.  And  such  hopes  had 
no  part  in  our  system.  We  counted  on  nothing.  Days 
as  we  found  them  were  not  seldom  of  the  disappointing 
kind  ;  this  one  had  been  of  the  best,  remarkably  clear  and 
fine.  If  we  were  baffled  that  was  no  worse  than  we  expected. 
To  be  bewildered  was  all  in  the  game.  But  our  sensation 
was  something  beyond  bewilderment.  We  felt  ourselves 
to  be  foiled.  We  were  unpleasantly  stung  by  this  slap  in 
the  face.  We  had  indeed  solved  all  doubts  as  to  the  East 
face  and  North-east  arete,  and  had  solved  them  quickly. 
But  the  way  to  Chang  La,  which  had  seemed  almost  within 
our  grasp,  had  suddenly  eluded  us,  and  had  escaped,  how 
far  we  could  not  tell.  Though  its  actual  distance  from 
our  summit  might  be  short,  as  indeed  it  must  be,  the  glacier 
of  our  quest  appeared  now  at  the  end  of  a  receding  vista  ; 
and  this  was  all  our  prospect. 

Our  next  plans  were  made  on  the  descent.  With  the 
relaxation  of  physical  effort  the  feeling  of  dazed  fatigue 
wears  off  and  a  mind  duly  strung  to  activity  may  work  well 
enough.  The  immediate  object  was  to  reach  our  tents 
not  too  late  to  send  a  cooHe  down  to  the  base  camp  the  same 
evening  ;  on  the  following  morning  a  reinforcement  of  four 
men  would  enable  us  to  carry  down  all  our  loads  with 
sufficient  ease,  and  with  no  delay  we  should  move  the  whole 
party  along  the  next  stage  back  towards  Langma  La — 
and  thus  save  a  day.     The  main  idea  was  simple.     It  still 


236    THE   RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

seemed  probable  that  the  elusive  glacier  drained  ultimately 
Eastwards,  in  which  case  its  waters  must  flow  into  the 
Kharta  stream  ;  thither  we  had  now  to  retrace  our  steps 
and  follow  up  the  main  vaUey  as  we  had  originally  intended  ; 
it  might  be  necessary  to  investigate  more  vaUeys  than  one, 
but  there  sooner  or  later  a  way  would  be  found.  Only, 
time  was  short.  At  the  earliest  we  could  be  back  in  the 
Kharta  Valley  on  August  9.  By  August  20  I  reckoned 
the  preliminary  reconnaissance  should  come  to  an  end,  if 
we  were  to  have  suflicient  time  before  the  beginning  of 
September  for  rest  and  reorganisation  at  Kharta — and  such 
was  the  core  of  our  plan. 

These  projects  left  out  of  account  an  entirely  new  factor. 
In  the  early  stages  of  the  reconnaissance  I  had  taken  careful 
note  of  the  party's  health.  One  or  two  of  the  coolies  had 
quickly  fallen  victims  to  the  high  altitudes  ;  but  the  rest 
seemed  steadily  to  grow  stronger.  Nothing  had  so  much 
surprised  us  as  the  rapid  acclimatisation  of  the  majority, 
and  the  good  effects,  so  far  as  they  appeared,  of  living  in 
high  camps.  Both  Bullock  and  myself  left  the  Rongbuk 
Valley  feeling  as  fit  as  we  could  wish  to  feel.  All  qualms 
about  our  health  had  subsided.  For  my  part  I  was  a 
confirmed  optimist,  and  never  imagined  for  myself  the 
smallest  deviation  from  my  uniform  standard  of  health 
and  strength.  On  August  7,  as  we  toiled  over  the  neve  in 
the  afternoon,  I  felt  for  the  first  time  a  symptom  of  weariness 
beyond  muscular  fatigue  and  beyond  the  vague  lassitude 
of  mountain-sickness.  By  the  time  we  reached  the  moraine 
I  had  a  bad  headache.  In  the  tent  at  last  I  was  tired  and 
shivering  and  there  spent  a  fevered  night.  The  next  morning 
broke  with  undeniable  glory.  A  photograph  of  our  yester- 
day's conquest  must  be  obtained.  I  dragged  myself  and 
the  quarter-plate  camera  a  few  steps  up  to  the  crest  of  the 
moraine — only  to  find  that  a  further  peregrination  of  perhaps 
300  yards  would  be  necessary  for  my  purpose ;  and  300 
yards  was  more  than  I  could  face.  I  was  perforce  content 
with  less  interesting  exposures  and  returned  to   breakfast 


THE   EASTERN  APPROACH  237 

with  the  dismal  knowledge  that  for  the  moment  at  all 
events  I  was  hors  de  combat.  We  learned  a  little  later  that 
Colonel  Howard-Bury  had  arrived  the  night  before  in  our 
base  camp.  It  was  easily  decided  to  spend  the  day  there 
with  him — the  day  I  had  hoped  to  save  ;  after  the  long 
dragging  march  down  the  green  way,  which  on  the  ascent 
had  been  so  pleasant  with  butterflies  and  flowers,  I  was 
obliged  to  spend  it  in  bed. 

Three  days  later,  on  August  11,  our  tents  were  pitched 
in  a  sheltered  place  well  up  the  Kharta  Valley,  at  a  height 
of  about  16,500  feet.  Two  tributary  streams  had  been 
passed  by,  the  first  coming  in  from  the  North  as  being  clearly 
too  small  to  be  of  consequence,  and  the  second  from  the 
South,  because  wherever  its  source  might  be,  it  could  not 
be  far  enough  to  the  North.  Ahead  of  us  we  had  seen  that 
the  valley  forked  ;  we  must  follow  the  larger  stream  and 
then  no  doubt  we  should  come  soon  enough  to  the  glacier 
of  our  quest  and  be  able  at  last  to  determine  whether  it 
would  serve  us  to  approach  Chang  La.  August  12,  a  day 
of  necessary  idleness  after  three  long  marches,  was  spent 
by  the  coolies  in  collecting  fuel,  of  which  we  were  delighted 
to  observe  a  great  abundance,  rhododendron  and  gobar 
aU  about  us,  and,  only  a  short  way  down  the  valley,  the 
best  we  could  hope  for,  juniper.  Tlie  last  march  had  been 
too  much  for  me,  and  again  I  was  obHged  to  keep  my  bed 
with  a  sore  throat  and  swollen  glands. 

It  seemed  certain  that  the  next  two  days  must  provide 
the  cUmax  or  anticlimax  of  our  whole  reconnaissance.  The 
mystery  must  surely  now  be  penetrated  and  the  most 
important  discovery  of  all  be  made.  A  competition  A;\dth 
my  companion  for  the  honour  of  being  first  was,  I  hope,  as 
far  from  my  thoughts  as  ever  it  had  been.  From  the  start 
Bullock  and  I  had  shared  the  whole  campaign  and  worked 
and  made  our  plans  together,  and  neither  for  a  moment  had 
envied  the  other  the  monopoly  of  a  particular  adventure. 
Nevertheless,  after  all  that  had  passed,  the  experience  of 
being  left  out  at  the  finish  would  not  be  agreeable  to  me ; 


238    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

I  confess  that  not  to  be  in  at  the  death  after  leading  the 
hunt  so  long  was  a  bitter  expectation.  But  the  hunt  must 
not  be  stopped,  and  on  the  morning  of  August  13,  from 
the  ungrateful  comfort  of  my  sleeping-bag,  I  waved  farewell 
to  Bullock.  How  many  days  would  he  be  absent  before  he 
came  to  tell  his  story,  and  what  sort  of  story  would  it  be  ? 
Would  he  know  for  certain  that  the  way  was  found  ?  or  how 
much  longer  would  our  doubts  continue  ? 

It  was  impossible  to  stay  in  bed  mth  such  thoughts, 
and  by  the  middle  of  the  morning  I  was  sitting  in  the  sun 
to  write  home  my  dismal  tale.  A  hint  from  one  of  the 
coolies  interrupted  my  meditations  ;  I  looked  round  and 
now  saw,  to  my  great  surprise  and  unfeigned  delight,  the 
approaching  figure  of  Major  Morshead.  I  had  long  been 
hoping  that  he  might  be  free  to  join  us  ;  and  he  arrived  at 
the  due  moment  to  cheer  my  present  solitude,  to  strengthen 
the  party,  and  to  help  us  when  help  was  greatly  needed. 
Moreover,  he  brought  from  WoUaston  for  my  use  a  medical 
dope ;  stimulated  by  the  unusual  act  of  drug-taking,  or 
possibly  by  the  drug  itself,  I  began  to  entertain  a  hope  for 
the  morrow,  a  feeling  incommunicably  faint  but  distinguish- 
ably  a  hope. 

Meanwhile  Bullock,  though  he  had  not  started  early, 
had  got  off  soon  enough  in  the  morning  to  pitch  his  tents 
if  all  went  well  some  hours  before  dark,  and  in  aU  probability 
at  least  so  far  up  as  to  be  within  view  of  the  glacier  snout. 
As  the  night  was  closing  in  a  coolie  was  observed  running 
down  the  last  steep  sandy  slope  to  our  camp.  He  brought 
a  chit  from  Bullock :  "I  can  see  up  the  glacier  ahead  of 
me  and  it  ends  in  another  high  pass.  I  shall  get  to  the 
pass  to-morrow  morning  if  I  can,  and  ought  to  see  our  glacier 
over  it.  But  it  looks,  after  all,  as  though  the  most  unHkely 
solution  is  the  right  one  and  the  glacier  goes  out  into  the 
Rongbuk  Valley." 

Into  the  Rongbuk  Valley !  We  had  discussed  the 
possibility.  The  glacier  coming  in  there  from  the  East 
remained  unexplored.     But  even  if  we  left  out  of  account 


THE   EASTERN  APPROACH  239 

all  that  was  suggested  by  the  East  arete  of  Changtse  and 
other  features  of  this  country,  there  remained  the  unanswer- 
able difficulty  about  the  stream,  the  little  stream  which  we 
had  but  just  failed  to  cross  in  the  afternoon  of  our  first 
expedition.  How  could  so  little  water  drain  so  large  an 
area  of  ice  as  must  exist  on  this  supposition  ? 

In  any  case  we  were  checked  again.  The  mystery 
deepened.  And  though  the  interest  might  increase,  the 
prospect  of  finding  a  way  to  Chang  La,  with  the  necessary 
margin  of  time  before  the  end  of  the  month,  was  still 
receding,  and,  whether  or  no  the  unexpected  should  turn  out 
to  be  the  truth,  the  present  situation  suggested  the  unpleasant 
complication  of  moving  our  base  once  more  somewhere 
away  to  the  North. 

On  the  following  day  with  the  gathering  energy  of 
returning  health  I  set  forth  with  Morshead  :  we  walked 
in  a  leisurely  fashion  up  the  valley  rejected  by  Bullock  and 
had  the  surprising  good  fortune  of  a  clear  sky  until  noon. 
I  soon  decided  that  we  were  looking  up  the  glacier  where 
we  had  looked  down  on  the  7th,  as  Bullock  too  had  decided 
on  the  previous  day  :  at  the  head  of  it  was  a  high  snow  col 
and  beyond  that  the  tip  of  Changtse.  What  lay  between 
them  ?  If  a  combe  existed  there,  as  presumably  it  did,  the 
bed  of  it  must  be  high  :  there  could  hardly  be  room,  I 
thought,  for  a  very  big  drop  on  the  far  side  of  the  col. 
Might  not  this,  after  all,  be  a  sufficiently  good  approach, 
a  more  convenient  way  perhaps  than  to  mount  the  glacier 
from  its  foot,  wherever  that  might  be  ?  The  near  col,  so  far 
as  I  could  judge,  should  easily  be  reached  from  this  side. 
Why  not  get  to  the  col  and  find  out  what  lay  beyond  it  ? 
The  time  had  come  to  abandon  our  object  of  finding  the  foot 
of  a  glacier  in  order  to  follow  it  up  ;  for  we  could  more 
easily  come  to  the  head  of  it  and  if  necessary  follow  it  down. 

I  was  sanguine  about  this  new  plan,  which  seemed  to 
have  good  prospects  of  success  and  might  obviate  the 
difficulties  and  inconvenience  of  shifting  the  base  (possibly 
again  to  the  Rongbuk  side,  which  I  had  no  desire  to  revisit) 


240    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

and,  as  I  still  felt  far  from  fit,  I  was  in  some  hopes  now 
that  two  more  days  would  bring  us  to  the  end  of  our  present 
labours.  Bullock  very  readily  agreed  to  the  proposal. 
He  brought  no  positive  information  from  the  col  which  he 
had  reached,  though  he  inchned  to  the  idea  that  the  water 
crossed  at  Harlung  on  our  journey  to  Kharta,  a  moderate 
stream,  but  perhaps  too  clear,  might  provide  the  solution 
of  our  problem.  A  fresh  bone  was  now  thrown  into  our 
stew.  A  letter  arrived  from  Howard-Bury  with  an  enclosure 
from  Wheeler,  a  sketch  map  of  what  he  had  seen  more 
particularly  East  of  the  Rongbuk  Glacier,  on  which  the 
Eastern  branch,  with  its  Western  exit,  was  clearly  marked 
where  we  now  know  it  to  be.  It  was,  unfortunately,  a  very 
rough  map,  professedly  nothing  more,  and  was  notably 
wrong  in  some  respects  about  which  we  had  accurate  know- 
ledge. We  were  not  yet  convinced  that  the  head  of  the 
East  Rongbuk  Glacier  was  reaUy  situated  under  the  slopes 
of  Everest,  and  not  perhaps  under  the  Eastern  arm  of 
Changtse.  Still,  we  had  some  more  pickings  to  digest. 
Our  business  was  to  reach  the  nearer  pass,  and  I  felt  sure 
that  once  we  had  looked  over  it  to  the  other  side  whatever 
doubts  remained  could  be  cleared  up  in  subsequent  dis- 
cussion with  Wheeler.  Meanwhile,  I  hoped,  we  should 
have  discovered  one  way  to  Chang  La,  and  a  sufficiently 
good  one. 

It  took  us  in  the  sequel  not  two  but  four  days  to  reach 
the  pass  which  was  ultimately  known  as  Lhakpa  La 
(Windy  Gap).  The  story  may  serve  as  a  fair  illustration 
of  the  sort  of  difiiculty  with  which  we  had  to  contend.  It 
was  arranged  on  the  15th  that  we  should  meet  Bullock's 
coolies  at  the  divide  in  the  valley  ;  they  were  bringing  down 
his  camp  and  we  could  all  go  on  together  :  but  our  messenger 
succeeded  in  collecting  only  half  their  number  and  much 
delay  was  caused  in  waiting  for  the  others.  From  here 
we  followed  the  Western  stream,  a  stony  and  rather  fatiguing 
walk  of  two  hours  or  so  (unladen)  up  to  the  end  of  the 
glacier,  and  then  followed  a  moraine  shelf  on  its  left  bank, 


THE   EASTERN   APPROACH  241 

I  hoped  we  should  find  an  easy  way  round  to  the  obvious 
camping  place  we  had  previously  observed  from  the  Carpo-ri. 
But  the  shelf  ended  abruptly  on  steep  stony  slopes,  clouds 
obscured  our  view,  and  after  our  misfortunes  in  the  morning 
we  were  now  short  of  time,  so  that  it  was  necessary  to  stay 
where  we  were  for  the  night.  A  thick  layer  of  mist  was 
still  lying  along  the  valley  when  we  woke,  and  we  could  see 
nothing,  but  were  resolved,  nevertheless,  to  reach  the  col 
if  possible.  We  went  up,  for  the  best  chance  of  a  view, 
to  the  crest  of  the  hill  above  us,  and  followed  it  to  the  summit 
(6.30  a.m.).  The  view  was  splendid,  and  I  took  some  good 
photographs  ;  but  the  drop  on  the  far  side  was  more  serious 
than  our  hopes  had  suggested.  We  tried  to  make  the  best 
of  things  by  contouring  and  eventually  halted  for  breakfast 
on  the  edge  of  the  glacier  a  long  way  North  of  the  direct 
line  at  8.45  a.m.  Before  we  went  on  we  were  again  enveloped 
in  mist,  and  after  stumbling  across  the  glacier  in  snow-shoes 
to  the  foot  of  an  icefall,  we  turned  back  at  11  a.m.  By  that 
time  we  were  a  tired  party  and  could  not  have  reached 
the  col ;  and  even  had  we  reached  it,  we  should  have  seen 
nothing.  Still  we  felt  when  we  found  our  tents  again  that 
with  all  we  had  seen  the  day  had  not  been  lost,  and  we 
determined,  before  renewing  our  attempt  on  Lhakpa  La, 
to  push  on  the  camp.  There  was  still  time  to  send  a  message 
down  to  the  Sirdar  so  as  to  get  up  more  coolies  and  suppUes 
and  move  forward  next  day.  From  this  higher  camp  we 
hoped  that  the  col  might  be  reached  at  an  early  hour,  and 
in  that  case  it  would  be  possible  for  a  party  to  cross  it  and 
descend  the  glacier  on  the  other  side. 

The  first  coolies  who  came  uj)  in  the  morning  brought 
a  message  from  the  Sirdar  to  the  effect  that  supplies  were 
short  and  he  could  send  none  up.  The  rations  were 
calculated  to  last  for  another  three  days,  but  their  distribu- 
tion had  been  muddled.  However,  enough  was  subsequently 
sent  up  to  carry  us  over  into  the  next  day,  though  it  was 
necessary  of  course  to  abandon  our  project  of  a  more  distant 
reconnaissance.     Our  camp  was  happily  established  in  the 

M.E.  R 


242    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

usual  snowstorm.  The  weather,  in  fact,  was  not  treating 
us  kindly.  Snow  was  falling  in  these  days  for  about  eight 
to  ten  hours  on  the  average  and  we  were  relieved  at  last  to 
see  a  fine  morning. 

On  August  18,  with  the  low  moon  near  setting,  the  three 
of  us  with  one  coohe  set  forth  on  the  most  critical  expedition 
of  our  whole  reconnaissance.  Failure  on  this  day  must 
involve  us  in  a  lamentable  delay  before  the  party  could 
again  be  brought  up  for  the  attack  ;  at  the  earliest  we 
should  be  able  to  renew  the  attempt  four  days  later,  and  if 
in  the  end  the  way  were  not  established  here  the  whole 
prospect  of  the  assault  in  September  would  be  in  jeopardy. 
We  scaled  the  Httle  cHff  on  to  the  glacier  that  morning 
with  the  full  consciousness  that  one  way  or  another  it  was 
an  imperative  necessity  to  reach  the  col.  The  first  few 
steps  on  the  glacier  showed  us  what  to  expect ;  we  sank 
in  to  our  knees.  Tlie  remedy  was,  of  course,  to  put  on 
rackets — which  indeed  are  no  great  encumbrance,  but  a 
growing  burden  on  a  long  march  and  on  steep  slopes  most 
difficult  to  manage.  We  wore  them  for  the  rest  of  the  day 
whenever  we  were  walking  on  snow.  About  dawn  the  light 
became  difficult ;  a  thin  floatiug  mist  confused  the  snow 
surfaces ;  ascents  and  descents  were  equally  indistiaguishable, 
so  that  the  errant  foot  might  unexpectedly  hit  the  slope 
too  soon  or  equally  plunge  down  with  sudden  violence  to 
unexpected  depths.  Crevasses  forced,  or  seemed  to  force, 
us  away  to  the  right  and  over  to  the  rocks  of  the  left  bank. 
We  were  faced  with  one  of  those  critical  decisions  which 
determine  success  or  failure.  It  seemed  best  to  climb  the 
rocks  and  avoid  complications  in  the  icefall.  There  was 
an  easy  way  through  on  our  left  which  we  afterwards  used  ; 
but  perhaps  we  did  well ;  ours  was  a  certain  way  though 
long,  and  we  had  enough  trudging  that  day  ;  the  rocks, 
though  covered  with  snow  to  a  depth  of  several  inches,  were 
not  difficult,  and  a  long  traverse  brought  us  back  to  the 
glacier  at  about  8.30  a.m. 

Our  greatest  enemy  as  we  went  on  was  not,  after  aU,  the 


THE   EASTERN  APPROACH  243 

deep  powdery  snow.  The  racket  sank  slightly  below  the 
surface  and  carried  a  little  snow  each  step  as  one  lifted 
it ;  the  work  was  arduous  for  the  first  man.  But  at  a  slow 
pace  it  was  possible  to  plod  on  without  undue  exhaustion. 
The  heat  was  a  different  matter.  In  the  glacier-furnace 
the  thin  mist  became  steam,  it  enveloped  us  with  a  clinging 
garment  from  which  no  escape  was  possible,  and  far  from 
being  protected  by  it  from  the  sun's  fierce  heat,  we  seemed 
to  be  scorched  all  the  more  because  of  it.  The  atmosphere 
was  enervating  to  the  last  degree  ;  to  halt  even  for  a  few 
minutes  was  to  be  almost  overwhelmed  by  inertia,  so  difficult 
it  seemed,  once  the  machinery  had  stopped  and  lost 
momentum,  to  heave  it  into  motion  again.  And  yet  we 
must  go  on  in  one  direction  or  the  other  or  else  succumb 
to  sheer  lassitude  and  overpowering  drowsiness.  The  final 
slopes,  about  700  feet  at  a  fairly  steep  angle,  undoubt- 
edly called  for  greater  efforts  than  any  hitherto  required 
of  us. 

Tlie  importance  of  breathing  hard  and  deeply  had 
impressed  itself  upon  us  again  and  again.  I  had  come  to 
think  of  my  own  practice  as  a  very  definite  and  conscious 
performance  adopted  to  suit  the  occasion.  The  principles 
were  always  the  same — to  time  the  breathing  regularly 
to  fit  the  step,  and  to  use  not  merely  the  upper  part  of  the 
lungs,  but  the  full  capacity  of  the  breathing  apparatus, 
expanding  and  contracting  not  the  chest  only,  but  also  the 
diaphragm,  and  this  not  occasionally  but  with  every  breath 
whenever  the  body  was  required  to  work  at  high  pressure. 
Probably  no  one  who  has  not  tried  it  would  guess  how  difficult 
it  is  to  acquire  an  unconscious  habit  of  deep  breathing. 
It  was  easy  enough  to  set  the  machine  going  in  the  right 
fashion ;  it  was  another  task  to  keep  it  running.  The 
moment  attention  to  their  performance  was  relaxed,  the  lungs 
too  would  begin  to  relax  their  efforts,  and  often  I  woke 
from  some  day-dream  with  a  feehng  of  undue  fatigue,  to 
find  the  cause  of  my  lassitude  only  in  the  lungs'  laziness.  The 
best  chance  of  keeping  them  up  to  their  work,  I  found,  was 


244    THE   RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

to  impose  a  rhythm  primarily  upon  the  lungs  and  swing 
the  legs  in  time  with  it. 

The  practice  employed  for  walking  uphiU  under  normal 
conditions  is  exactly  contrary,  in  that  case  the  rhythm  is 
consciously  imposed  on  the  legs  and  the  rest  of  the  body 
takes  care  of  itself. 

During  the  various  expeditions  of  our  reconnaissance 
I  came  to  employ  two  distinct  methods  of  working  the  legs 
with  the  lungs.  As  soon  as  conscious  breathing  was  necessary 
it  was  my  custom  deliberately  to  inhale  on  one  step  and 
exhale  on  the  next.  Later,  at  a  higher  elevation,  or  when 
the  expenditure  of  muscular  energy  became  more  exhausting, 
I  would  both  inhale  and  exhale  for  each  step,  in  either  case 
timing  the  first  movement  of  lifting  the  leg  to  synchronise 
with  the  beginning,  so  to  speak,  of  the  breathing-stroke. 
On  this  occasion  as  we  pushed  our  way  up  towards  Lhakpa 
La  I  adopted  a  variation  of  this  second  method,  a  third 
stage,  pausing  a  minute  or  so  for  the  most  furious  sort  of 
breathing  after  a  series  of  steps,  forty  or  thirty  or  twenty, 
as  the  strength  ebbed,  in  order  to  gain  potential  energy  for 
the  next  spasm  of  lifting  efforts.  Never  before  had  our  lungs 
been  tested  quite  so  severely.  It  was  well  for  us  that  these 
final  slopes  were  no  steeper.  It  was  difficult  and  tiring  enough 
as  it  was  to  prevent  the  rackets  sliding,  though  without  them 
we  could  not  possibly  have  advanced  in  such  snow.  But 
happily  the  consequences  of  a  slip  were  not  likely  to  be 
serious.  We  were  able  to  struggle  on  without  regarding 
dangers,  half- dazed  with  the  heat  and  the  glare  and  with 
mere  fatigue,  occasionally  encouraged  by  a  glimpse  of  the 
skyline  above  us,  a  clean  edge  of  snow  where  the  angle  set 
back  to  the  pass,  more  often  enveloped  in  the  scorching 
mist  which  made  with  the  snow  a  continuous  whiteness, 
so  that  the  smooth  slope,  even  so  near  as  where  the  foot 
must  be  placed  next,  was  usually  indistinguishable.  We 
had  proceeded  a  considerable  distance  and  I  was  satisfied 
with  our  progress,  when  the  leader  broke  the  monotony ; 
he  was  seen  to  hesitate  in  the  act  of  stepping  up,  to  topple 


THE   EASTERN  APPROACH  245 

over  and  fall  headlong  downwards.  This  time  he  had  guessed 
wrong  ;  his  foot  had  hit  unexpectedly  against  the  steepening 
slope.  Somehow  he  had  passed  in  extreme  fatigue  from  the 
physical  state  of  stable  equilibrium  ;  he  had  become  such  a 
man  as  you  may  "  knock  down  with  a  feather,"  and  this 
little  misadventure  had  upset  his  balance.  Mere  sxu-prise 
gave  him  strength  to  stop  his  slide.  He  raised  himself, 
disgusted,  to  his  feet  again  and  after  sundry  gruntings  the 
party  went  on. 

Some  little  way  further  up  Major  Morshead,  who  was 
walldng  last  in  the  party,  with  one  brief  exclamation  to  tell 
us  what  he  intended,  quietly  untied  the  rope  and  remained 
where  he  was  in  his  steps,  unable  to  go  further. 

At  length  we  found  ourselves  on  flatter  ground ;  the 
pass  was  still  invisible,  how  far  ahead  of  us  we  could  not 
guess.  Unexpectedly  we  came  upon  the  brink  of  a  crevasse. 
We  worked  round  it,  vaguely  wondering  whether  after  all 
our  pains  we  were  to  meet  with  many  troubles  of  this  sort. 
And  then  after  a  few  more  steps  we  were  visibly  on  some 
edge  of  things  ;   we  had  reached  the  col  itself. 

Some  twenty  minutes  later,  as  we  sat  on  the  snow  gazing 
most  intently  at  all  that  lay  about  us,  Bullock  and  I  were 
surprised  by  a  shout.  A  moment  later  Major  Morshead 
rejoined  us,  to  the  great  rejoicing  of  all  three. 

It  was  about  1.15  p.m.  when  the  first  two  of  us  had 
reached  Lhakpa  La  ;  the  clouds,  which  had  been  earlier 
only  a  thin  veil,  rent  occasionally  to  give  us  clear  glimpses, 
had  thickened  perceptibly  during  the  last  hour,  so  that  we 
had  now  no  hope  of  a  clear  view.  In  a  sense,  despite  our 
early  start  from  a  high  camp,  we  were  too  late.  Little  was 
to  be  seen  above  our  level.  The  slopes  of  Everest  away  on 
our  left,  were  visible  only  where  they  impinged  upon  the 
glacier.  But  we  were  not  actually  in  cloud  on  the  col.  The 
South-facing  rocks  of  Changtse  presented  their  profile,  steep 
and  jagged,  an  imposing  spectacle  so  far  up  as  we  could 
see  ;  between  them  and  Everest  we  looked  down  on  a  broad 
bay,   the   smooth   surface   of   which   was   only  occasionally 


246    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

broken  by  large  crevasses.  The  descent  to  it  from  where 
we  were  could  also  be  seen  well  enough,  and  we  judged  it 
perfectly  simple  and  not  much  more  than  800  feet.*  The 
East  ridge  of  Changtse  had  no  existence  for  us  ;  we  looked 
across  at  what  presumably  were  the  splayed-out  slopes 
supporting  it.  Below  them  was  a  narrow  glacier  (it  grew 
when  we  crossed  it  to  broader  dimensions),  shaping  its 
course  somewhat  to  the  West  of  North,  joined  after  losing 
its  white  snow-covering  by  another  and  cleaner  glacier 
coming  steeply  down  from  the  left,  then  apparently  bending 
with  this  confluent  to  the  right,  and  finally  lost  to  view. 
We  could  see  no  more  ;  the  mountain  sides,  which  must 
hem  it  in  on  the  North,  remained  completely  hidden,  and 
for  all  we  had  seen  the  exit  of  this  glacier  was  still  a 
mystery. 

Another  great  question  remained  unsolved.  We  had 
been  able  to  make  out  the  way  across  the  head  of  the  glacier 
towards  the  wall  under  Chang  La ;  and  the  way  was  easy 
enough.  But  the  wall  itself,  in  spite  of  some  fleeting  glimpses 
and  partial  revelations,  we  had  never  really  seen.  We 
conjectured  its  height  should  be  500  feet  or  little  more ; 
and  it  was  probably  steep.  It  had  been  impossible  to  found 
an  opinion  as  to  whether  the  col  were  accessible.  Never- 
theless, I  held  an  opinion,  however  flimsy  the  foundations. 
I  had  seen  the  rim  of  the  col  from  both  sides,  and  knew  that 
above  it  on  either  hand  were  unserrated  edges.  When  we 
added  to  whatever  chances  might  be  offered  by  the  whole 
extent  of  the  wall,  which  was  considerable,  the  possibflities 
of  finding  a  way  to  the  col  by  the  slopes  of  Everest  to  the 
South  or  by  those  of  Changtse  to  the  North,  I  felt  we  had 
enough  in  our  favour.  I  was  prepared,  so  to  speak,  to  bet 
my  bottom  doUar  that  a  way  could  be  found,  and  was  resolved 
that  before  we  turned  homewards  this  year  we  must  get 
up  from  the  East.  When  I  thought  of  the  4,000  feet  on 
the  other  side,  the  length  combined  with  the  difficulties, 
the  distance  that  would  necessarily  separate  us  there  from 

*  It  turned  out  to  be  a  full  1,200  feet. 


a  "rt 


THE  EASTERN  APPROACH  247 

any  convenient  base  and  all  the  limitations  in  our  strength, 
I  could  have  no  reasonable  doubt  that  here  to  the  East  lay 
the  best  chance  of  success. 

It  remained  to  determine  by  which  of  two  possible  routes 
we  should  reach  the  glacier-head  between  Lhakpa  La  and 
Chang  La.  Presuming  that  Wheeler  was  right  we  could 
use  the  old  base  at  the  foot  of  the  Rongbuk  Glacier  which 
was  only  one  stage,  though  a  very  long  one,  from  Chobuk, 
and  proceed  simply  enough  by  two  rough  marches  and  one 
which  should  be  easier  to  a  camp  at  the  foot  of  the  wall  or 
possibly  to  the  col  itself.  On  the  East  we  could  use  as  an 
advanced  base  a  place  two  easy  marches  from  Kliarta ; 
from  there  I  reckoned  one  long  day  and  two  easy  ones, 
provided  the  snow  were  hard,  to  Chang  La.  Against  this 
route  was  the  loss  of  height  in  crossmg  Lhakpa  La ;  and 
for  it  the  convenience  of  a  good  encampment  on  stones  at 
20,000  feet,  better  than  anything  we  might  expect  to  find 
at  a  similar  elevation  on  the  other  side.  So  far  the  pros 
and  cons,  were  evenly  balanced.  But  there  was  one  great 
and  perhaps  insuperable  obstacle  in  working  from  the 
Rongbuk  Valley.  We  had  always  found  difficulties  there 
in  obtaining  an  adequate  supply  of  fuel.  There  is  no  wood 
at  Chobuk  or  for  some  distance  below  it.  A  few  small 
bushes  grow  in  a  Httle  patch  of  vegetation  by  the  riverside 
an  hour  higher  up.  But  it  is  a  very  niggardly  supply,  and 
when  I  thought  of  the  larger  scale  of  the  preparations  we 
should  now  have  to  make,  it  became  clear  that  we  should 
have  to  rely  on  gobar,  which,  besides  being  a  more  extravagant 
fuel  in  the  sense  that  it  gives  less  fire  for  a  given  weight 
than  wood,  is  also  difficult  to  get  in  the  Rongbuk  Valley, 
for  httle  enough  is  to  be  found  there,  and  the  monastery 
at  Choyhng  is  a  large  consumer.  On  the  other  hand,  in 
the  Kharta  Valley  we  were  in  a  land  of  plenty.  Gobar  and 
rhododendron  were  to  be  had  within  a  stone's  tlirow  of  our 
present  advanced  base  camp,  and  a  Httle  lower  was  an 
abundance  of  juniper.  Food  supphes  also  were  better 
here ;    fresh  vegetables  and  eggs,   luxuries  never  seen   on 


248    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

the  other  side,  could  easily  be  obtained  from  Kharta,  and 
even  the  sheep  in  this  region  could  be  praised  at  the  expense 
of  the  Rongbuk  breed,  which  was  incomparably  skinny ; 
lurkmg  in  the  thigh  of  one  recently  kiUed  we  had  actually 
discovered  a  nugget  of  fat. 

And  presuming  Wheeler  were  wrong  ?  In  any  case  we 
knew  enough  of  the  country  to  be  sure  that  a  valley  fiu:ther 
to  the  North  would  offer  us  little  better  than  the  Rongbuk 
Valley,  for  it  must  be  situated  in  the  drier  area  unvisited 
by  the  monsoon  currents  from  the  Arun.  The  conclusion 
was  di'awn  as  we  came  down  from  Lhakpa  La  more  swiftly 
than  the  reader  of  these  arguments  might  suppose.  We 
had  now  found  a  way  to  approach  Chang  La — not  an  ideal 
way,  because  it  would  involve  a  descent,  and  not  one  that 
could  be  used  immediately  ;  but  good  enough  for  our  purpose. 
If  laden  coohes  could  not  be  brought  to  the  Lhakpa  at 
present  over  so  much  soft  snow  they  might  find  the  march 
to  their  liking  later  ;  for  good  snow  at  angles  not  too  steep 
involves  far  less  labour  than  rougher  ground  ;  and  might 
we  not  expect  the  snow  to  harden  before  long  ?  The  whole 
plan  of  campaign  had  been  founded  upon  the  belief  that 
September  would  be  the  best  month  for  climbing,  and  our 
greatest  efforts,  some  sort  of  an  assault  upon  the  mountain, 
were  timed  to  take  place  then.  We  must  now  proceed 
upon  the  assumption  that  what  the  wise  men  prophesied 
about  the  matter  would  come  true  ;  and  they  promised  a 
fine  September.  About  the  beginning  of  the  month  the 
monsoon  would  come  to  an  end ;  then  we  should  have  a 
succession  of  bright,  clear  days  to  melt  the  snow  and  cold, 
starry  nights  to  freeze  it  hard.  At  worst  the  calm  spell 
would  only  be  broken  by  a  short  anger.  In  September, 
perhaps  a  fortnight  hence,  on  these  same  slopes  where  now 
we  toiled  we  should  find  a  soHd  substance  beneath  our  feet 
and  an  easy  way. 

The  abiding  thought,  therefore,  after  the  first  rush 
downwards  on  the  steep  slopes  below  the  col  contained  a 
measure  of  solid  satisfaction.     Wc  had  now  brought  to  an 


THE   EASTERN  APPROACH  249 

end  our  preliminary  reconnaissance.  Ahead  of  us  was  a 
new  phase  in  our  operations,  and  one  which  should  hold  in 
store  for  us  the  finest  adventure  of  all,  the  chmax  of  all 
reconnoitring  expeditions,  that  advance  which  was  to  bring 
us  as  near  to  the  summit  as  our  strength  would  take  us.  As 
we  plodded  on,  retracing  our  steps,  some  little  satisfaction 
was  highly  acceptable.  To  the  tired  party  even  descent 
seemed  laborious.  We  reached  the  edge  of  the  glacier 
where  we  had  come  on  to  it  at  5.30  p.m.  But  the  march 
from  there  to  our  lower  camp  was  both  long  and  rough. 
Major  Morshead,  who  had  not  been  trained  with  Bullock 
and  me  to  the  pace  of  such  expeditions,  had  kept  up  so  far 
in  the  gamest  fashion ;  but  he  was  now  much  exhausted. 
The  day  ended  with  a  series  of  little  spurts,  balancing  over 
the  snow-sprmkled  boulders  along  and  along  the  vaUey, 
in  the  dim  misty  moonlit  scene,  until  at  2  o'clock  in  the 
morning  we  reached  our  lower  camp,  twenty-three  hours 
after  the  early  start. 

On  August  20  we  went  down  to  Kharta  for  ten  days' 
rest  and  reorganisation.  The  party  was  gathering  there 
for  the  assault,  in  which  all  were  to  help  to  the  best  of  their 
powers.  Col.  Howard-Bury  and  Mr.  Wollaston  were  there ; 
Dr.  Heron  came  in  on  the  following  day,  and  a  little  later 
Major  Wheeler.  A  conversation  with  this  officer,  who  had 
been  working  in  the  Rongbuk  Valley  since  Bullock  and  I 
had  left  it,  was  naturally  of  the  highest  interest,  and  he 
now  confirmed  what  his  sketch-map  had  suggested :  that 
the  glacier  on  to  which  we  had  looked  down  from  Lhakpa 
La  drained  into  the  Rongbuk  Valley.  But  this  certain 
knowledge  could  have  no  bearing  on  our  plans  ;  we  remained 
content  with  the  way  we  had  found  and  troubled  our  heads 
no  more  for  the  present  about  the  East  Rongbuk  Glacier. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE   ASSAULT 

In  the  agreeable  climate  of  Kharta  we  were  sufficiently 
occupied  with  the  results  of  photography  and  preparations 
for  the  future  ;  and  there  was  time  besides  for  unmixed 
idleness,  which  we  knew  how  to  appreciate.  Our  thoughts 
turned  often  to  the  weather.  Local  lore  confirmed  our 
expectations  for  September,  and  we  looked  each  day  for 
signs  of  a  change.  It  was  arranged,  in  hope  if  not  in 
confidence,  to  move  up  on  the  first  signs  of  improvement. 
Already  before  we  came  down  to  Kharta  our  Advanced 
Base  Camp  had  been  moved  up  ;  it  was  now  situated  at 
about  17,300  feet  on  a  convenient  grassy  plateau  and  only 
a  reasonable  stage  below  our  20,000-foot  camp,  where  some 
light  tents  and  stores  had  also  been  left.  At  these  two  camps 
we  had,  in  fact,  left  everything  which  we  should  not  absolutely 
require  at  Kharta,  so  that  few  mountaineering  stores  would 
have  to  be  carried  forward  from  the  Base  when  we  came 
up  again.  Our  first  task  would  be  to  supply  the  Advanced 
Base  with  food  and  fuel,  and  a  start  had  already  been  made 
by  collecting  here  a  pile  of  wood,  nominally  thirty  loads. 
Transport  in  any  case  was  not  likely  to  be  a  difficulty  in 
the  early  stages.  Local  coolies  could  easily  be  hired,  and 
Howard-Bury  was  to  follow  us  up  after  a  short  interval 
with  all  available  strength  to  help  in  every  possible  way. 

The  first  object  which  our  plans  must  include  was,  of 
course,  to  reach  Chang  La  ;  by  finding  the  way  to  this  point 
we  should  establish  a  line  of  attack  and  complete  a  stage 
of  our  reconnaissance.  Secondly  we  must  aim  at  reaching 
the  North-east  Shoulder.  In  so  far  as  it  was  an  object  of 
reconnaissance  to  determine  whether  it  was  possible  to  climb 

250 


THE   ASSAULT  251 

Mount  Everest,  our  task  could  never  be  complete  until  we 
had  actually  climbed  it ;  but  short  of  that  it  was  important 
to  have  a  view  of  the  final  stage,  and  could  we  reach  the 
great  shoulder  of  the  arete  we  should  at  least  be  in  a  better 
position  to  estimate  what  lay  between  there  and  the  summit. 
Finally  we  saw  no  reason  to  exclude  the  supreme  object 
itself.  It  would  involve  no  sacrifice  of  meaner  ends  ;  the 
best  would  not  interfere  with  the  good.  For  if  it  should 
turn  out  that  the  additional  supplies  required  for  a  longer 
campaign  were  more  than  our  coolies  could  carry,  we  would 
simply  drop  them  and  aim  less  high. 

In  organising  the  assault  we  had  first  to  consider  how 
our  camps  could  be  established,  at  Lhakpa  La  or  perhaps 
better  beyond  it  at  a  lower  elevation,  at  Chang  La,  and 
finally  as  high  as  possible,  somewhere  under  the  shoulder, 
we  thought,  at  about  26,500  feet.  From  the  camp  on 
Chang  La  we  should  have  to  carry  up  ten  loads,  each  of 
15  lb.,  which  would  provide  tents  enough,  and  sleeping- 
sacks  and  food  for  a  maximum  of  four  Sahibs  and  four 
coolies  ;  sixteen  cooKes  were  allowed  for  this  task ;  twelve 
therefore  would  have  to  return  on  the  day  of  their  ascent 
and  sleep  at  Chang  La,  and  on  the  assumption  that  they 
would  require  an  escort  of  Sahibs  who  must  also  sleep  at 
this  camp,  four  small  tents  must  remain  there,  making  six 
in  all  to  be  carried  up  to  this  point.  The  lower  end  of  the 
ladder  must  be  so  constructed  as  to  support  this  weight  at 
the  top.  It  was  comparatively  a  simple  matter  to  provide 
the  earher  camps.  The  first  above  the  advanced  base — 
that  at  20,000  feet — could  be  filled  before  we  moved  up  to 
sleep  there,  the  coolies  returning  on  the  same  day  whenever 
they  carried  up  loads.  And  the  same  plan  could  be  adopted 
for  the  second  at  Lhakpa  La  ;  only  one  journey  there,  I 
calculated,  would  be  required  before  we  started  in  force 
from  the  20,000-foot  camp  to  go  straight  ahead  without  delay. 
The  crux  would  lie  in  the  stage  from  Lhakpa  La  to  Chang 
La.  At  the  most  we  should  have  twenty-three  cooHes, 
sixteen  who  had  been  all  along  with  the  cHmbing  party, 


252    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

three  whom  Wheeler  had  partially  trained,  and  four  more 
Sherpas,  the  maximum  number  being  determined  by  the 
supply  of  boots.  But  it  would  not  be  necessary  to  carry 
on  all  the  loads  from  Lhakpa  La  ;  and  return  journeys  could 
be  made  from  Chang  La  both  by  those  who  were  not  to  stay 
there  and  by  the  twelve  already  mentioned  who  might 
fetch  supplies  if  necessary  on  the  final  day  of  the  assault. 
This  plan  was  never  executed  in  its  later  stages,  and  we 
cannot  know  for  certain  whether  it  would  have  held  good. 
But  it  may  be  conjectured,  in  view  of  our  experience,  that 
the  weakest  link  would  have  broken  ;  either  an  extra  day 
would  have  been  spent  between  Lhakpa  La  and  Chang  La, 
or,  if  we  had  reached  Chang  La  according  to  programme 
with  the  minimum  of  supplies,  the  coolies  would  not  have 
been  brought  to  this  point  a  second  time  and  the  climbing 
party  would  have  been  cut  off  from  its  reserves.  And, 
granted  the  most  favourable  conditions  for  the  attempt, 
in  asking  the  coolies  to  carry  loads  of  30  lb.  on  two  consecutive 
days  at  these  high  altitudes,  we  were  probably  expecting 
too  much  of  them.  It  must  be  concluded,  if  this  opinion 
is  correct,  that  we  had  not  enough  coolies  for  what  we 
intended. 

On  the  last  day  of  August,  Bullock  and  I  were  estabhshed 
once  again  at  our  Advanced  Base.  The  weather  had  not 
yet  cleared,  though  it  was  showing  some  signs  of  change. 
But  it  had  been  necessary  to  move  up  for  the  coolies'  sake. 
At  Kharta,  where  they  found  little  to  amuse  them  and  no 
work  to  employ  their  time,  they  had  sought  diversion  with 
the  aid  of  liquor  and  become  discontented  and  ill-affected. 
They  were  badly  in  need  of  a  routine,  which  at  the  Advanced 
Base  was  easily  enough  provided.  Besides,  I  wanted  to 
be  ready,  and  it  seemed  not  too  soon  to  begin  carrying  loads 
up  to  the  next  camp.  There  was  no  occasion  for  hurry 
in  the  event.  We  were  obUged  to  wait  nearly  three  weeks, 
until  September  19,  before  moving  forward.  The  delay 
served  no  useful  purpose,  the  work  of  supplying  our  present 
needs  and  providing  for  the  future  was  sufficiently  spread 


THE  ASSAULT  253 

over  the  long  tale  of  days,  but  interspersed  with  more  rest 
and  leisure  than  anyone  required. 

In  some  respects  life  at  the  Advanced  Base  compared 
favourably  with  our  experience  at  other  camps.  The  place 
had  a  charm  of  its  own.  The  short  turf  about  us,  the 
boulders  and  little  streams  reminded  me  of  Welsh  hillsides  ; 
and  these  high  pastures  were  often  decorated  by  the  briUiant 
blues  of  Gentiana  ornata  and  by  the  most  exquisite  of 
saxifrages,  which,  with  the  yellow  and  ochre  markings  on  the 
cream  glaze  of  its  tiny  bowl,  recalls  the  marginal  ornament 
on  some  Persian  page.  Whenever  the  weather  cleared 
for  a  few  hours  we  saw  down  the  valley  a  splendid  peak  in 
a  scene  of  romantic  beauty,  and  by  walking  up  to  a  stony 
shoulder  only  2,000  feet  above  us,  we  had  amazing  views  of 
Everest  and  Makalu.  And  it  was  an  advantage  during 
these  days  of  waiting  to  be  a  larger  party,  as  we  soon  became. 

Bury  and  WoUaston,  and  also  Kaeburn  whom  we  rejoiced 
to  see  again,  had  come  up  on  the  6th,  Morshead  and  Wheeler 
on  the  11th,  and  for  two  nights  Heron  was  of  our  company. 
We  made  little  excursions  to  keep  ourselves  fit,  and  on  one 
occasion  enjoyed  some  rock-climbing.  But  it  amused  nobody 
to  watch  the  procession  of  clouds  which  precipitated  sleet 
by  day  and  snow  by  night,  and  our  appetite  for  adventure 
could  not  be  stimulated  by  making  time  pass  in  some 
endurable  fashion  and  counting  the  unhopeful  signs. 

Under  these  circumstances  I  became  more  than  ever 
observant  of  the  party's  physical  condition.  I  find  a  passage 
in  one  of  my  letters  written  during  this  period  of  waiting 
in  which  I  boast  of  finding  myself  "  still  able  to  go  up  about 
1,500  feet  in  an  hour — not  bad  going  at  these  altitudes  " — 
a  reassuring  statement  enough  but  for  the  one  word  "  still," 
which  betrays  all  my  anxiety.  In  fact  there  was  too  much 
cause  to  be  anxious.  Three  of  our  strongest  coolies  wTre 
ill  at  this  camp  ;  others  seemed  to  be  tired  more  easily  than 
they  should  be.  And  what  of  the  Sahibs  ?  At  least  it 
must  be  said  that  several  of  them  were  not  looking  their 
best.     BuUock,    though    he    never    complained,    seemed   no 


254    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

longer  to  be  the  fit  man  he  was  at  the  end  of  July.  And  for  my 
part  I  began  to  experience  a  certain  lack  of  exuberance  when 
going  up  hiU.  I  came  to  reaUse  that  aU  such  efforts  were  unduly 
exhausting  ;  my  reserve  of  strength  had  somehow  diminished. 
The  whole  machine,  in  fact,  was  running  down;  the  days 
continued  to  pass  with  their  cloud  and  rain  and  snow,  always 
postponing  our  final  effort  to  a  later  date  and  a  colder  season ; 
and  with  them  our  chances  of  success  were  slowly  vanishing. 
When  at  last  the  weather  cleared,  it  was  evident  that 
the  fate  of  our  enterprise  would  be  decided  by  the  sun's 
power  to  melt  the  snow.  In  a  subsequent  chapter  I  shall 
have  more  to  say  about  the  snow's  melting  ;  it  may  suffice 
to  remark  here  that,  before  we  left  the  Advanced  Base,  I 
had  good  reason  to  expect  that  we  should  meet  adverse 
conditions,  and  was  resolved  at  the  same  time  that  nothing 
was  to  be  gained  by  waiting.  The  coolies  were  lightly  laden 
up  to  the  First  Advanced  Camp  and  sufficiently  unfatigued 
to  proceed  next  day.  On  the  20th,  therefore,  leaving  Bullock 
to  accompany  Wheeler,  Morshead  and  I  set  forth  to  get 
fourteen  loads  up  to  Lhakpa  La.  We  had  one  spare  coolie 
who  carried  no  load,  and  Sanglu,  who  was  now  our  acting 
Sirdar,  four  of  us  in  all,  to  break  the  trail  for  the  loaded 
men.  Snow-shoes  were  not  carried  because  there  were 
not  enough  to  go  round.  Though  our  prospects  of 
reaching  a  high  point  on  Everest  were  already  sufficiently 
dim,  I  intended  to  carry  out  the  original  plan  until  obliged 
by  circumstances  to  modify  it ;  it  might  prove  necessary 
to  spend  an  extra  day  in  reaching  Chang  La,  and  in  that 
case  we  could  perhaps  afford  to  stop  short  of  Lhakpa  La 
and  establish  our  camp  below  its  final  slopes.  But  if  the 
strain  on  this  first  day  was  likely  to  be  severe,  I  argued  that 
the  coolies  could  rest  to-morrow,  and  that  the  second  journey 
in  frozen  tracks  would  be  easy  enough.  That  we  should 
be  passing  the  night  a  few  hundred  feet  higher  (at  22,500 
feet)  was  a  relatively  unimportant  consideration.  The 
great  matter  was  to  put  heart  into  the  coolies  ;  it  would 
be  infinitely   more   encouraging   to   reach  the  crest  with   a 


THE  ASSAULT  255 

sense  of  complete  achievement,  to  see  the  clear  prospect 
ahead  and  to  proceed  downwards  on  the  other  side. 

Om'  start  at  an  early  hour  on  the  20th  was  propitious 
enough.  It  was  the  same  moonlit  glacier  of  our  expedition 
a  month  before  as  we  made  good  our  approach  to  its  surface. 
But  the  conditions  were  altered.  For  the  first  time  since 
we  had  come  to  these  mountains  we  experienced  the  wonderful 
delight  of  treading  snow  that  is  both  crisp  and  soHd.  We 
walked  briskly  over  it,  directly  towards  Mount  Everest, 
with  all  the  hope  such  a  performance  might  inspire.  The 
night  was  exceedingly  cold  and  there  was  no  untoward 
delay.  In  less  than  an  hour  we  were  at  the  foot  of  the  icefall. 
We  were  determined  on  this  occasion  not  to  avoid  it  by  the 
rocks  of  the  left  bank,  but  to  find  a  quicker  way  through 
the  tumbled  ice.  At  first  all  went  well.  A  smooth-floored 
corridor  took  us  helpfully  upwards.  And  then,  in  the  dim 
light,  we  were  among  the  crevasses.  To  be  seriously  held 
up  here  might  well  be  fatal  to  our  object,  and  in  the  most 
exciting  kuid  of  mountaineering  adventures  we  had  the 
stimulus  of  this  thought.  We  plunged  mto  the  maze  and 
struggled  for  a  little  time,  crossing  frail  bridges  over  fantastic 
depths  and  making  steps  up  steep  little  waUs,  until  it  seemed 
we  were  in  serious  trouble.  One  leap  proposed  by  the  leader 
proved  too  much  for  some  of  the  laden  coolies  and  a  good 
deal  of  pushing  and  pullmg  was  required  to  bring  them  over 
the  formidable  gap.  We  had  begun  to  waste  time.  Halted 
on  a  sharp  little  crest  between  two  monstrous  chasms  Morshead 
and  I  discussed  the  situation,  and  thereafter  gravely  proceeded 
to  reconnoitre  the  ground  to  our  left.  In  ten  minutes  we 
came  to  another  corridor  Hke  the  first,  which  brought  us 
out  above  the  icefall. 

We  were  well  satisfied  with  our  progress  as  we  halted 
at  sunrise,  and  it  was  a  pleasant  change  to  get  our  feet  out 
of  the  snow  and  knock  a  little  warmth  into  chilled  toes. 
But  our  confidence  had  ebbed.  Even  as  we  entered  the 
icefall  our  feet  had  occasionally  broken  the  crust ;  as  we 
came  out  of  it  we  were  stampmg  a  trail. 


256    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

Dorji  Gompa,  our  unladen  coolie,  and  perhaps  the 
strongest  man  of  all,  took  the  lead  when  we  went  on,  and 
plugged  manfully  upwards.  But  already  the  party  was 
showing  signs  of  fatigue.  One  coohe,  and  then  two  others, 
fell  out  and  could  not  be  induced  to  come  further.  I  sent 
Dorji  Gompa  back  to  bring  on  one  of  their  loads.  Morshead, 
Sanglu  and  I  took  turns  ahead  and  soon  came  to  the  worst 
snow  we  had  encountered  anywhere.  In  it  no  firm  steps 
could  be  stamped  by  the  leaders  to  save  the  coolies  behind, 
and  each  man  in  turn  had  to  contend  with  the  shifting 
substance  of  fine  powder.  The  party  straggled  badly.  It 
was  necessary  for  some  of  us  to  press  on  and  prove  that 
the  goal  could  be  reached.  Many  of  the  men  were  obliged 
to  halt  at  frequent  intervals.  But  time  was  on  our  side. 
Gradually  the  party  fought  its  way  up  the  final  slopes.  As 
we  approached  the  pass  I  looked  back  with  Morshead  over 
the  little  groups  along  our  track  and  saw  some  distance 
below  the  last  moving  figure  another  lying  huddled  up  on 
the  snow.  I  soon  learnt  the  meaning  of  this  :  it  was  Dorji 
Gompa  who  lay  there.  He  had  carried  on  not  one  load  as 
I  had  asked  him,  but  two,  until  he  had  fallen  there  dazed 
and  exhausted. 

At  length  eleven  loads  reached  the  pass  and  two  more 
were  only  800  feet  lower.  If  we  had  not  done  all  we  set 
out  to  do  I  was  satisfied  we  had  done  enough.  We  had 
established  tracks  to  Lhakpa  La  which  should  serve  us  weU 
when  they  had  frozen  hard,  and  not  too  many  loads  remained 
below  to  be  brought  up  two  days  later. 

We  now  obtained  a  clear  view  of  Chang  La  ;  it  was 
possible  to  make  more  exact  calculations,  and  it  was  evident 
we  must  modify  our  plans.  We  saw  a  wall  of  formidable 
dimensions,  perhaps  1,000  feet  high ;  the  surface  was 
unpleasantly  broken  by  insuperable  bergschrunds  and  the 
general  angle  was  undoubtedly  steep.  The  slopes  of  Everest 
to  the  South  were  out  of  the  question,  and  if  it  were  possible 
to  avoid  a  direct  assault  by  the  North  side  the  way  here 
would   be   long,    difficult   and   exceedingly   laborious.     The 


THE  ASSAULT  257 

wall  itself  offered  the  best  chance,  and  I  was  in  good  hopes 
we  could  get  up.  But  it  would  not  be  work  for  untrained 
men,  and  to  have  on  the  rope  a  number  of  laden  coolies, 
more  or  less  mountain  sick,  conducted  by  so  small  a  nucleus 
as  three  Sahibs,  who  would  also  presumably  be  feeling  the 
effects  of  altitude,  was  a  proposition  not  to  be  contemplated 
for  a  moment.  We  must  have  as  strong  a  party  as  possible 
in  the  first  place,  simply  to  reach  the  col,  and  afterwards  to 
bring  up  a  camp,  if  we  were  able,  as  a  separate  operation. 
With  this  idea  I  selected  the  party.  Wollaston  felt  that 
his  place  of  duty  was  not  with  the  van  ;  only  Wheeler  besides 
had  sufficient  mountaineering  experience,  and  it  was  decided 
that  he  alone  should  accompany  Bullock  and  myself  on 
our  first  attempt  to  reach  the  col.  Nevertheless,  it  seemed 
undesirable  to  abandon  so  early  the  hope  that  Bury  and 
Morshead  would  be  of  use  to  us  later  on  ;  and  Wollaston 
clearly  must  start  with  us  from  the  20,000-foot  camp  where 
all  had  gathered  on  the  20th. 

I  had  hoped  we  should  have  a  full  complement  of  coohes 
on  the  22nd,  but  when  morning  came  it  was  found  that 
three,  including  two  of  the  best  men,  were  too  ill  to  start. 
Consequently  some  of  the  loads  were  rather  heavier  than  I 
intended.  But  all  arrived  safely  at  Lhakpa  La  before  midday. 
Visited  by  malicious  gusts  from  the  North-west,  the  pass 
was  cheerless  and  chilly ;  however,  the  rim  afforded  us 
some  protection,  and  we  decided  to  pitch  our  tents  there 
rather  than  descend  on  the  other  side  with  the  whole  party, 
a  move  which  I  felt  might  complicate  the  return.  I  was 
not  very  happy  about  the  prospects  for  the  morrow.  For 
my  o^vTi  part  I  had  been  excessively  and  unaccountably 
tired  in  coming  up  to  the  col ;  I  observed  no  great  sparkle 
of  energy  or  enthusiasm  among  my  companions  ;  Sanglu 
was  practically  Jiors  de  combat ;  some  of  the  coolies  had  with 
difficulty  been  brought  to  the  col  and  were  more  or  less 
exhausted  ;  and  many  complaints  of  headache,  even  from 
the  best  of  them,  were  a  bad  sign. 

There  was  no  question  of  bustling  off  before  dawTi  on 

M.E.  S 


258    THE  RECONNAISSANCE  OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

the  23rd,  but  we  rose  early  enough,  as  I  supposed,  to  push 
on  to  Chang  La  if  we  were  sufficiently  strong.  Morshead 
and  I  in  a  Mummery  tent  had  slept  well  and  I  congratulated 
myself  on  an  act  of  mutilation  in  cutting  two  large  slits 
in  its  roof.  The  rest  had  not  fared  so  well,  but  seemed  fit 
enough,  and  the  wonderful  prospect  from  our  camp  at  sunrise 
was  a  cheering  sight.  With  the  coolies,  however,  the  case 
was  different.  Those  who  had  been  unweU  overnight  had 
not  recovered,  and  it  was  evident  that  only  a  comparatively 
small  number  would  be  able  to  come  on ;  eventually  I 
gathered  ten,  two  men  who  both  protested  they  were  ill 
casting  lots  for  the  last  place  ;  and  of  these  ten  it  was  evident 
that  none  were  unaffected  by  the  height  and  several  were 
more  seriously  mountain-sick.*  Under  these  circumstances 
it  was  necessary  to  consider  which  loads  should  be  carried 
on.  Bury,  Wollaston  and  Morshead  suggested  that  they 
should  go  back  at  once  so  as  not  to  burden  the  party  with 
the  extra  weight  of  their  belongings,  and  it  seemed  the  wisest 
plan  that  they  should  return.  Certain  stores  were  left  behind 
at  Lhakpa  La  as  reserve  supplies  for  the  climbing  party. 
I  decided  at  an  early  hour  that  our  best  chance  was  to  take 
an  easy  day  ;  after  a  late  start  and  a  very  slow  march  we 
pitched  our  tents  on  the  open  snow  up  towards  the  col. 

It  might  have  been  supposed  that  in  so  deep  a  cwm 
and  sheltered  on  three  sides  by  steep  mountain  slopes,  we 
should  find  a  tranquil  air  and  the  soothing,  though  chilly 
calm  of  undisturbed  frost.  Night  came  clearly  indeed, 
but  with  no  gentle  intentions.  Fierce  squalls  of  wind  visited 
our  tents  and  shook  and  worried  them  with  the  disagreeable 
threat  of  tearing  them  away  from  their  moorings,  and  then 
scurried  off,  leaving  us  in  wonder  at  the  change  and  asking 
what  next  to  expect.  It  was  a  cold  wind  at  an  altitude  of 
22,000  feet,  and  however  little  one  may  have  suffered,  the 
atmosphere  discouraged  sleep.      Again  I  believe  I  was  more 

*  I  use  this  expression  to  denote  not  a  state  of  intermittent  vomiting, 
but  simply  one  in  which  physical  exertion  exhausts  the  body  abnormally 
and  causes  a  remarkable  disinclination  to  further  exertion. 


THE  ASSAULT  259 

fortunate  than  my  companions,  but  Bullock  and  Wheeler 
fared  badly.  Lack  of  sleep,  since  it  makes  one  sleepy,  always 
discourages  an  early  start,  and  hot  drinks  take  time  to 
brew  ;  in  any  case,  it  was  wise  to  start  rather  late  so  as 
to  have  the  benefit  of  warm  sun  whenever  our  feet  should 
be  obhged  to  linger  in  cold  snow  or  ice  steps.  It  was  an 
hour  or  so  after  sunrise  when  we  left  the  camp  and  half  an 
hour  later  we  were  breaking  the  crust  on  the  first  slopes 
under  the  wall.  We  had  taken  three  coohes  who  were 
sufficiently  fit  and  competent,  and  now  proceeded  to  use 
them  for  the  hardest  work.  Apart  from  one  brief  spell  of 
cutting  when  we  passed  the  corner  of  a  bergschrund  it  was 
a  matter  of  straightforward  plugging,  firstly  slanting  up 
to  the  right  on  partially  frozen  avalanche  snow  and  then 
left  in  one  long  upward  traverse  to  the  summit.  Only  one 
passage  shortly  below  the  col  caused  either  anxiety  or  trouble  ; 
here  the  snow  was  lying  at  a  very  steep  angle  and  was  deep 
enough  to  be  disagreeable.  About  500  steps  of  very  hard 
work  covered  all  the  worst  of  the  traverse  and  we  were 
on  the  col  shortly  before  1L30  a.m.  By  this  time  two  coohes 
were  distinctly  tired,  though  by  no  means  incapable  of 
coming  on  ;  the  third,  who  had  been  in  front,  was  com- 
paratively fresh.  Wheeler  thought  he  might  be  good  for 
some  further  effort,  but  had  lost  all  feeling  in  his  feet.  Bullock 
was  tired,  but  by  sheer  will  power  would  evidently  come 
on — how  far,  one  couldn't  say.  For  my  part  I  had  had  the 
wonderful  good  fortune  of  sleeping  tolerably  well  at  both 
high  camps  and  now  finding  my  best  form  ;  I  supposed  I 
might  be  capable  of  another  2,000  feet,  and  there  would 
be  no  time  for  more.  But  what  lay  ahead  of  us  ?  My  eyes 
had  often  strayed,  as  we  came  up,  to  the  rounded  edge  above 
the  col  and  the  final  rocks  below  the  North-east  arete.  If 
ever  we  had  doubted  whether  the  arete  were  accessible, 
it  was  impossible  to  doubt  any  longer.  For  a  long  way  up 
those  easy  rock  and  snow  slopes  was  neither  danger  nor 
difficulty.  But  at  present  there  was  wind.  Even  where 
we  stood  under  the  lee  of  a  little  ice  cliff  it  came  in  fierce 


260    THE   RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

gusts  at  frequent  intervals,  blowing  up  the  powdery  snow 
in  a  suffocating  tourbiUon.  On  the  col  bej^ond  it  was  blowing 
a  gale.  And  higher  was  a  more  fearful  sight.  The  powdery- 
fresh  snow  on  the  great  face  of  Everest  was  being  swept 
along  in  unbroken  spindrift  and  the  very  ridge  where  our 
route  lay  was  marked  out  to  receive  its  unmitigated  fury. 
We  could  see  the  blown  snow  deflected  upwards  for  a  moment 
where  the  wind  met  the  ridge,  only  to  rush  violently  down 
in  a  frightful  blizzard  on  the  leeward  side.  To  see,  in  fact, 
was  enough  ;  the  wind  had  settled  the  question  ;  it  would 
have  been  folly  to  go  on.  Nevertheless,  some  little  discussion 
took  place  as  to  what  might  be  possible,  and  we  struggled 
a  few  steps  further  to  put  the  matter  to  the  test.  For  a 
few  moments  we  exposed  ourselves  on  the  col  to  feel  the 
fuU  strength  of  the  blast,  then  struggled  back  to  shelter. 
Nothing  more  was  said  about  pushing  our  assault  any 
further. 

It  remained  to  take  a  final  decision  on  the  morning  of 
the  25th.  We  were  evidently  too  weak  a  party  to  play  a 
waiting  game  at  this  altitude.  We  must  either  take  our 
camp  to  the  col  or  go  back.  A  serious  objection  to  going 
forward  lay  in  the  shortage  of  coolies'  rations.  Had  the 
men  been  fit  it  would  not  have  been  too  much  for  them  to 
return,  as  I  had  planned,  unladen  to  Lhakpa  La  and  reach 
Chang  La  again  the  same  day.  I  doubted  whether  any  two 
could  be  found  to  do  that  now ;  and  to  subtract  two  was 
to  leave  only  eight,  of  whom  two  were  unfit  to  go  on,  so 
that  six  would  remain  to  carry  seven  loads.  However, 
the  distance  to  the  col  was  so  short  that  I  was  confident 
such  difficulties  could  be  overcome  one  way  or  another. 

A  more  unpleasant  consideration  was  the  thought  of 
requiring  a  party  which  already  felt  the  height  too  much 
to  sleep  at  least  a  1,000  feet  higher.  We  might  well 
find  it  more  than  we  could  do  to  get  back  over  Lhakpa  La, 
and  be  forced  to  make  a  hungry  descent  down  the  Rongbuk 
Valley.  There  would  be  no  disaster  in  that  event.  The 
crucial   matter  was  the   condition   of  the   climbers.     Were 


THE   ASSAULT  261 

we  fit  to  push  the  adventure  further  ?  The  situation,  if 
any  one  of  the  whole  party  collapsed,  would  be  extremely 
disagreeable,  and  all  the  worse  if  he  should  be  one  of  the 
Sahibs,  who  were  none  too  many  to  look  after  the  coolies 
in  case  of  mountaineering  difficulties.  Such  a  collapse  I 
judged  might  well  be  the  fate  of  one  or  other  of  us  if  we 
were  to  push  our  assault  above  Chang  La  to  the  limit  of 
our  strength.  And  what  more  were  we  likely  to  accomplish 
from  a  camp  on  Chang  La  ?  The  second  night  had  been 
no  less  windy  than  the  first.  Soon  after  the  weather  cleared 
the  wind  had  been  strong  from  North-west,  and  seemed 
each  day  to  become  more  violent.  The  only  signs  of  a  change 
now  pointed  to  no  improvement,  but  rather  to  a  heavy 
fall  of  snow — by  no  means  an  improbable  event  according 
to  local  lore.  The  arguments,  in  fact,  were  all  on  one  side  ; 
it  would  be  bad  heroics  to  take  wrong  risks  ;  and  fairly 
facing  the  situation  one  could  only  admit  the  necessity  of 
retreat. 

It  may  be  added  that  the  real  weakness  of  the  party 
became  only  too  apparent  in  the  course  of  our  return  journey 
over  Lhakpa  La  on  this  final  day ;  and  it  must  be  safe  to 
say  that  none  of  the  three  climbers  has  ever  felt  a  spasm  of 
regret  about  the  decision  to  go  back  or  a  moment's  doubt  as 
to  its  rightness.  It  was  imposed  upon  us  by  circumstances 
without  a  reasonable  alternative. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

WEATHER  AND  CONDITION  OF  SNOW 

Without  consulting  the  meteorologist  at  Simla  it  is 
difficult  to  accept  assertions  about  the  monsoon  as  ultimate 
truth.  Beyond  a  general,  rather  vague,  agreement  as  to 
what  should  normally  be  expected,  opinions  differ  not  a 
little  as  to  the  measure  and  frequency  of  divergences  from 
the  norm.  And  individuals  who  observe  in  one  locality 
more  or  less  than  they  hope  or  expect  are  apt  to  forget 
that  their  dearth  or  plenty  may  be  elsewhere  compensated 
by  capricious  incidence.  Nevertheless  it  seems  certain 
that  this  year's  rainfall  in  North-east  India  was  above  the 
normal  both  in  amount  and  duration.  "  We  had  good  rain," 
people  said,  and  I  was  tempted  to  reply,  "  We  had  bad 
snow."  Travelling  through  India  I  frequently  asked  questions 
on  this  point,  and  almost  invariably  heard  of  an  unusually 
bountiful  rainfall,  seldom  of  one  which  was  merely  sufficient. 
Inhabitants  of  Darjeeling,  who  have  observed  the  hills  in 
the  changing  seasons  for  many  years,  told  me  that  it  was 
almost  unheard  of  that  so  much  snow  should  fall  in  September 
and  lie  so  low.  The  general  tenor  of  such  remarks  may 
probably  be  applied  to  an  area  including  not  only  Mount 
Everest  itself  and  the  great  peaks  in  its  neighbourhood, 
but  also  a  considerable  tract  of  country  to  the  North.  The 
monsoon,  according  to  Tibetan  information,  started  perhaps 
a  little  later  than  usual,  but  was  still  more  late  in  coming 
to  an  end ;  the  Tibetans  ordinarily  lie  with  an  object, 
and  there  could  be  no  object  in  deceiving  us  about  the 
weather.  It  may  be  concluded  the  year  was  abnormally 
wet,  though  to  what  extent  on  Everest  itself  can  hardly  be 
divined. 

262 


WEATHER   AND   CONDITION   OF  SNOW       263 

During  our  outward  journey  through  Sikkim  we  saw 
nothing  of  the  high  peaks.  It  was  not  until  the  day  of  our 
march  to  Phari  Dzong  (May  28)  that  we  had  a  clear  view 
of  the  snows,  and  we  had  then  the  good  fortune  to  see 
Chomolhari  late  in  the  morning.  But  Chomolhari  and  the 
range  to  the  North  of  it  were  less  visited  by  clouds  than  the 
peaks  further  South.  Pawhunri,  Kanchenjunga,  Chomiomo 
were  less  often  visible,  and  even  at  this  early  season  we 
began  to  observe  the  usual  habit  of  clouds  to  rise  from  the 
valleys  or  to  form  about  the  summits  at  an  early  hour,  to 
be  dissipated  not  before  evening.  The  weather  was  not 
necessarily  bad  because  the  peaks  were  veiled.  When  we 
first  saw  Everest  from  Kampa  Dzong  on  June  6,  it  was 
obscured  some  three  hours  after  sunrise,  but  the  weather 
seemed  fine  :  and  on  two  subsequent  days  we  made  the 
same  observation.  On  June  13,  from  the  hills  above  Shiling, 
Bullock  and  I  were  trying  to  make  out  the  Everest  group 
through  glasses  for  about  three  hours.  When  first  we  looked 
in  that  direction,  it  appeared  that  a  storm  was  in  progress, 
with  dark  clouds  drifting  up  from  the  West ;  but  Kanchen- 
junga at  the  same  time  was  a  glorious  sight,  and  all  the 
mountains  were  clear  before  sunset.  The  most  splendid  of 
the  distant  views  was  from  Ponglet  on  June  19  :  we  were 
up  our  hill  half  an  hour  after  sunrise  and  half  an  hour  later 
there  was  nothing  to  be  seen.  There  may  have  been  malice 
in  the  clouds  that  day.  It  was  radiantly  fine  where  we  were  ; 
but  in  the  afternoon  we  came  under  the  edge  of  a  thunderstorm 
which  drenched  the  main  body  of  the  Expedition  as  they 
were  approaching  Tingri ;  and  there  was  a  definite  break 
in  the  weather  at  this  time. 

I  suppose  this  break  may  be  taken  as  the  forerunner 
of  the  monsoon  on  Mount  Everest.  Storms  there  may 
have  been  before ;  but,  generally  speaking,  it  had  been 
fine  over  the  mountains  since  the  beginning  of  June,  and 
though  the  evidence  is  slight  enough  it  seems  probable 
that  Everest  received  little  or  no  snow  before  June  20. 
When  first  we  saw  it,  a  few  days  later,  from  the  Rongbuk 


264    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

Glacier,  it  was  still  comparatively  black.  It  appeared  a 
rocky  mass  with  a  white  arm  to  the  right,  some  permanent 
snow  on  the  ledges  and  in  the  gulHes  of  the  face  turned 
Northwards  in  our  direction  and  some  snow  again  on  the 
high  North-east  arete ;  but  with  no  pretensions  to  be  a 
snow- mountain,  a  real  sugar-cake  as  it  seemed  afterwards 
to  become.  We  were  lucky  in  having  a  few  fine  days  at 
the  outset  of  our  reconnaissance.  The  conditions  then 
were  very  different  from  those  which  obtained  later.  The 
recent  snow  must  have  melted  quickly ;  we  found  clean 
ice  on  an  East-facing  slope  at  21,000  feet  and  also  at  a  gentler 
angle  on  one  facing  West.  On  Ri-ring  the  slopes  were 
generally  covered  with  snow  near  the  crest,  thinly  but 
sufficiently,  or  we  should  never  have  got  up ;  near  the 
summit  we  found  ice  on  both  sides.  North  and  South.  It 
is  impossible  to  say  up  to  what  height  one  might  have  found 
ice  in  June.  Appearances  suggested  that  on  all  but  the 
steepest  slopes  above  23,000  feet  the  surface  was  hard  snow 
rather  than  ice. 

It  was  on  the  day  following  our  ascent  of  Ri-ring,  July  6, 
that  we  first  experienced  a  real  snowfall ;  and  we  woke 
next  morning  to  find  3  or  4  inches  covering  the  ground.  In 
so  far  as  an  exact  date  can  be  ascribed  to  what  is  hardly  a 
single  event,  July  6-7  may  be  taken  as  the  beginning  of 
the  monsoon.  We  imagined  at  first  that  this  snowfall  was 
an  important  matter,  sufficient  to  prevent  climbing  at  any 
considerable  height  for  several  days.  But  from  subsequent 
observations  we  came  to  treat  such  snowfalls  with  a  certain 
degree  of  contempt.  It  was  more  often  than  not  the  case 
during  the  whole  of  July  until  the  date  of  our  departure 
that  snow  fell  during  the  day — sometimes  perhaps  for  a 
comparatively  short  period  between  noon  and  sunset,  not 
seldom  for  many  hours,  intermittently  during  the  day  from 
the  middle  of  the  morning,  and  continuing  into  the  night. 
But  it  was  often  so  far  as  we  were  concerned  a  harmless 
phenomenon.  Snow  was  precipitated  from  clouds  so  thin 
that  they   were   easily   penetrated   by   the  sun's  heat ;    it 


WEATHER  AND   CONDITION   OF    SNOW      265 

melted  where  it  lay,  and  the  moisture  so  readily  evaporated 
that  the  snow  had  hardly  stopped  falling  before  the  ground 
was  dry.  One  might  suppose  that  a  few  hundred  feet  higher, 
where  the  snow  could  be  seen  to  lie  where  it  fell,  the  effects 
would  be  more  severe  ;  but  it  was  remarkable  after  half  a 
day's  unceasing  precipitation  of  this  fine  granular  snow 
that  one  might  go  up  early  next  morning,  perhaps  to 
20,000  feet,  and  find  no  more  than  a  thin  covering  of  2  or 
3  inches  on  the  stones. 

In  saying  that  this  sort  of  weather  was  harmless,  I  am 
not  denying  that  it  hindered  our  operations ;  but  from 
the  point  of  view  merely  of  the  climber  it  was  remarkably 
innocuous.  A  case  in  point  is  our  ascent  of  Ri-ring.  As 
we  were  nearing  the  summit  a  thunderstorm  gathered  to 
the  North  and  dark  clouds  came  up  on  every  hand,  threatening 
a  violent  disturbance.  I  have  related  in  an  earlier  chapter 
how  we  hurried  down,  expecting  at  the  least  a  cold  unpleasant 
wind  and  some  nasty  snow  showers ;  but  the  air  remained 
calm  and  the  temperature  warm  and  such  grains  of  snow 
as  fell  were  hardly  remarked  in  our  flight.  A  more  disagreeable 
experience  was  our  first  journey  to  the  col  from  which 
we  afterwards  looked  into  the  West  Cwm  of  Everest ;  we 
reached  the  pass  in  the  teeth  of  a  wind  which  drove  the 
snow  into  our  faces  ;  but  the  weather  had  no  real  sting, 
and  the  wind,  though  cold,  seemed  to  touch  us  lightly. 
Wmd,  in  fact,  was  never  an  enemy  to  be  feared  during  the 
whole  period  of  the  monsoon,  and  snowstorms,  though  they 
prevented  more  than  one  expedition,  never  turned  us  back. 
The  delays  in  our  reconnaissance  caused  by  bad  weather 
were  of  course  considerable  ;  we  were  forced  to  push  our 
camps  higher  than  would  have  otherwise  been  necessary, 
and  often  found  ourselves  hurrying  after  a  start  before  dawn 
in  a  desperate  race  with  the  clouds  to  reach  a  view-pomt 
before  the  view  had  disappeared.  And  the  precipitation  of 
snow  on  the  glaciers  forced  us  invariably  to  wear  snow-shoes 
on  neve,  and  consequently  limited  the  numbers  in  our 
parties. 


266    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

I  have  already  alluded  to  a  more  serious  snowfall  which 
took  place  from  July  20  to  25.  Another  occurred  during 
the  first  days  of  August  and  another  again  on  August  20 
and  21,  when  snow  came  down  below  16,000  feet.  In 
September,  towards  the  end  of  the  monsoon,  the  weather 
was  more  monotonously  malicious  and  the  snowfall  tended 
to  be  heavier  ;  I  find  two  heavy  falls  noted  particularly 
in  my  diary.  But  on  the  whole  it  was  the  habit  of  snow 
to  fall  lightly.  It  is  remarkable,  when  one  calls  to  mind 
such  a  big  snowfall  as  may  occur  during  the  climbing  season 
in  the  Alps  before  the  weather  is  resolved  to  be  fine,  how 
little  snow  by  comparison  fell  on  any  one  day  in  the  region 
of  Mount  Everest.  And  perhaps  in  the  end  the  slopes  were 
more  laden  by  the  smaller  precipitations  which  deposited 
a  daily  accretion. 

We  naturally  sought  an  answer  to  the  interminable 
query  as  to  how  much  melting  took  place  at  the  highest 
altitudes.  Melting  of  course  was  always  quicker  on  rocks. 
But  even  on  the  glaciers  it  was  remarkably  rapid  whenever 
the  sun  shone  brightly,  and  we  were  more  than  once  surprised 
after  a  period  of  cloudy  weather  with  constant  snow  showers 
to  find  how  much  the  snow  had  consolidated.  It  seemed 
to  us  on  more  than  one  occasion  that  while  snow  had  been 
falling  at  our  camps  and  on  the  lower  peaks,  Everest  itself 
must  have  escaped.  But,  generally  speaking,  after  July  6 
the  mountain  was  remarkably  white  and  became  increasingly 
whiter,  and  only  at  the  least  two  perfectly  fine  days,  which 
rarely  came  together,  made  any  perceptible  difference. 
It  was  remarkable  how  little  ice  was  ever  observable  on 
the  steep  Eastern  face,  where  one  would  expect  to  see  icicles 
hanging  about  the  rocks.  It  is  my  own  impression  for  what 
it  is  worth,  and  its  value  I  fear  is  small,  that  though  snow 
will  melt  readily  enough  low  down,  at  least  up  to  23,000  feet 
during  the  warmer  weather  even  on  cloudy  days,  at  greater 
altitudes,  perhaps  above  25,000  feet,  it  rarely  melts  even 
in  bright  sunshine.  In  September  this  year  I  doubt  if  it 
melted  at  all  above  23,000  feet  after  the  weather  cleared. 


WEATHER  AND   CONDITION   OF  SNOW       267 

At  lower  elevations  the  direction  and  angle  of  the  slope 
made  all  the  difference.  After  one  fine  day  the  snow  on  a 
steep  East  slope  had  solidified  to  a  remarkable  degree  at 
about  20,000  feet ;  on  a  North-facing  slope  at  a  similar 
elevation  it  had  been  quite  unaffected ;  on  flat  surfaces 
1,000  feet  higher  a  perceptible  crust  had  formed,  but 
the  snow  remained  powdery  below  it  as  on  the  day  when 
it  fell.  After  three  and  four  fine  days  the  snowy  surface 
of  a  glacier  was  absolutely  hard  at  about  20,000  feet  and 
remained  solid  in  the  afternoon.  Fifteen  hundred  feet 
higher  we  were  breaking  a  hard  crust  and  sinking  in  a  foot 
or  more.  This  condition  may  have  been  partly  due  to  the 
local  behaviour  of  clouds,  which  were  apt  to  cling  about  a 
ridge  overlooking  the  glacier  and  cast  a  shadow  on  this 
part  of  it.  But  higher,  on  more  open  ground,  we  met  the 
same  condition  ;  and  again  the  slopes  facing  North  preserved 
a  powdery  snow  which  never  changed  before  it  was  blown 
down  in  avalanches.  Perhaps  the  most  convincing  phenomena 
were  the  powdery  snow  high  up  on  the  Eastern  slopes  under 
the  North  col  and  the  snow  on  the  Western  slopes  at  a 
similar  elevation  under  Lhakpa  La,  which  was  hardly  more 
soUd,  while  1,000  feet  lower  we  found  excellent  snow. 
It  is  difficult  to  resist  the  conclusion  that  altitude  is  a 
determining  factor  in  the  sun's  power  of  melting.  It  is 
possible  that  a  line  might  always  be  drawn  on  any  given 
day  above  which  the  temperature  of  the  air  is  too  cold  for 
snow  to  melt  where  it  has  fallen  on  snow,  and  another  to 
meet  the  case  where  it  covers  rocks.  From  our  all  too 
limited  observations  in  June  I  should  judge  that  in  the 
middle  of  summer  such  imaginary  lines  would  be  above  the 
height  of  Everest,  but  in  other  and  cooler  seasons  we  should 
quickly  find  them  lower  and  a  long  way  below  the  summit. 

In  close  connection  with,  the  snow's  melting  we  had  to 
consider  the  possibihty  of  avalanches.  Our  observations 
on  this  head  were  so  meagre  that  I  can  only  make  with 
the  greatest  diffidence  a  few  statements  about  them.  It  is 
astonishing  to  reflect  how  seldom  we  either  saw  or  heard 


268    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

an  avalanche,  or  even  noticed  the  debris  of  one  under  steep 
slopes  which  had  been  laden  with  snow.  Only  on  two 
occasions,  I  beheve,  were  we  confronted  in  practice  with 
the  question  as  to  whether  a  slope  could  safely  be  crossed. 
The  first  was  on  August  7  in  ascending  the  peak  Carpo-ri, 
of  which  I  have  previously  made  mention.  The  heavy 
snowfall  at  the  beginning  of  the  month  had  ceased  during 
the  night  August  4-5  ;  the  following  days  had  been  warm 
but  cloudy,  and  on  both  there  had  been  prolonged  snow 
showers  of  the  lighter  sort  in  the  afternoon  and  evening. 
On  the  night  of  August  6  we  had  hard  frost  at  17,500  feet, 
and  there  was  a  considerable  sprinkling  of  fresh  snow  on 
the  stones  of  the  moraine.  Between  the  col  and  the  summit 
we  met  some  very  steep  snow  slopes  on  the  South  side : 
we  carried  no  chnometer  and  I  shall  not  venture  to  estimate 
their  angles  of  inclination.  It  was  on  this  occasion,  as  I 
have  narrated,  that  in  crossing  a  shaUow  scoop  I  was  very 
much  afraid  of  an  avalanche,  but  was  able  to  choose  a  safe 
line  where  we  were  protected  and  helped  by  an  island  of 
rocks.  The  snow  here  was  inclined  to  be  powdery ;  but  it 
had  solidified  in  some  degree  and,  where  we  had  to  tread 
it,  adhered  sufficiently  to  the  slope  so  as  to  give  one  a  distinct 
confidence  that  it  would  not  slide  off  wherever  it  might  be 
crossed.  Above  this  place  Ave  were  able  to  avoid  danger 
by  following  an  edge  where  the  snow  was  not  so  deep  ;  but 
here  again  I  noticed  with  surprise  the  adhesion  between 
new  snow  and  old.  The  ice  below  was  not  solid  and  smooth, 
but  frothy  and  rough,  and  easily  penetrated  by  a  strong 
blow  of  the  axe  ;  it  seemed  to  have  been  formed  very  quickly. 
The  snow  showed  no  inclination  to  slide  off,  though  it  was 
not  of  the  substance  in  which  a  secure  step  could  be  made  : 
and  I  concluded  that  the  process  of  assimilation  between 
the  old  surface  and  the  new  snow  must  proceed  very  rapidly 
whenever  the  temperature  was  warm  enough.  On  the  final 
slope,  which  was  even  steeper,  more  snow  was  lying — it 
was  a  more  powdery  substance :  I  was  able  again  to  escape 
danger  on  an  edge  dividing  two  faces ;   but  it  was  surprising 


WEATHER  AND   CONDITION   OF  SNOW       269 

that  no    avalanche  had  akeady  taken  place  and  that  the 
snow  contrived  to  stay  where  it  was. 

The  other  occasion  when  we  had  to  face  and  determine 
the  possibility  of  an  avalanche  was  in  traversing  the  slopes 
to  the  North  Col.  Here  our  feet  undoubtedly  found  a  solid 
bed  to  tread  upon,  but  the  substance  above  it  was  dubiously 
loose.  It  was  my  conviction  at  the  time  that  with  axes 
well  driven  in  above  us  we  were  perfectly  safe  here.  But 
on  the  way  down  we  observed  a  space  of  5  yards  or  so  where 
the  surface  snow  had  slid  away  below  our  tracks.  The 
disquieting  thoughts  that  necessarily  followed  this  discovery 
left  and  still  leave  me  in  some  doubt  as  to  how  great  a  risk, 
if  any,  we  were  actually  taking.  But  it  is  natural  to  suppose 
that  at  a  higher  elevation  or  in  a  cooler  season,  because 
the  snow  adheres  less  rapidly  to  the  slopes  on  which  it  lies, 
an  avalanche  of  new  snow  is  more  likely  to  occur. 

Temperature 

Before  attempting  to  draw  conclusions  as  to  the  relative 
chances  of  finding  favourable  conditions  between  one  month 
and  another,  a  few  words  must  be  said  about  temperature. 

So  far  as  the  temperature  of  the  air  was  concerned,  we 
experienced  no  severe  cold  and  suffered  no  hardships  from 
first  to  last.  I  do  not  mean  to  affirm  that  it  was  always 
warm.  We  welcomed  frost  at  nights  as  one  does  in  the 
Alps.  One  night  so  early  as  July  18,  in  a  camp  above 
19,000  feet,  was  exceptionally  cold.  At  our  two  last  camps 
in  September  the  thermometer  went  down  to  two  or  three 
degrees  below  zero  (Fahr.)  and  the  wind  at  the  final  camp 
made  it  more  difficult  to  keep  warm  ;  with  as  little  protection 
as  the  cooUes  had,  I  should  no  doubt  have  shivered  in  my 
tent.  The  air  also  seemed  very  cold  before  sunrise  on 
September  20,  though  we  were  walking  fast ;  but  it  did  not 
bite  the  tip  of  my  nose  or  ears  or  cause  any  disagreeable  result. 
In  general  it  may  be  said  that  there  could  be  no  difficulty 
in  providing  equipment  against  any  cold  we  encountered. 
Heat  was  a  much  more  dangerous  enemy,  as  I  indicated 


270    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

in  describing  our  first  ascent  to  Lhakpa  La.  Personally 
I  never  felt  the  sun's  power  on  my  head,  but  I  felt  it  on 
my  back  so  early  as  8  a.m.  as  a  definite  attack  on  my  energy 
and  vital  power,  and  more  than  once,  though  the  sun  was 
not  shining,  in  crossing  a  glacier  late  in  the  day  I  was  reduced 
from  a  state  of  alert  activity  to  one  of  heavy  lassitude. 

The  temperature  of  the  snow  is  another  consideration 
of  very  great  importance.  Even  in  July  I  felt  the  snow 
to  be  cold  in  the  middle  of  the  day  towards  the  summit 
of  Ri-ring,  and  when  wearing  snow-shoes  in  fresh  snow 
under  20,000  feet  coolies  and  aU  felt  the  cold  in  their  feet. 
Later  I  apprehended  a  real  danger  from  this  source.  The 
coolies  were  encouraged  to  anoint  their  feet  with  whale 
oil,  and  we  avoided  accident  and  even  complaint :  but  I 
always  admired  their  resistance  to  cold.  Personally,  though 
I  am  not  particularly  a  cold-footed  person,  I  took  the 
precaution  of  wearing  two  pairs  of  long  socks  which  were 
both  new  and  thick,  and  a  third  from  which,  unfortunately, 
the  toes  had  to  be  amputated  owing  to  the  timid  miscalculation 
of  my  bootmaker :  this  equipment  sufficed  and  I  found 
my  feet  perfectly  warm,  while  one  of  my  companions  was 
obliged  to  pull  off  a  boot  in  order  to  restore  circulation, 
and  the  other  went  on  with  numb  feet  and  barely  escaped 
frost-bite.  And  I  must  again  emphasise  the  fact  that  this 
was  on  an  Eastern  slope  well  warmed  by  the  sun  in  the 
middle  of  the  morning  and  at  an  altitude  no  higher  than 
about  22,500  feet.  It  may  readily  be  concluded  that 
forethought  and  care  are  in  no  respect  more  necessary  than  in 
guarding  against  frozen  feet  among  a  large  party  at  the  highest 
altitudes.  And  the  difficulty  of  guarding  against  this  danger 
might  well  determine  the  limits  at  either  end  of  the  warmest 
weather  within  which  an  assault  should  be  launched  on  Everest 
itself  or  any  one  of  the  half-dozen  or  so  highest  peaks. 

The  Best  Season  for  Climbing 
It  will  hardly  be  doubtful  from  the  whole  tendency  of 
my  preceding  remarks  about  weather  and  conditions  that 


WEATHER  AND  CONDITION   OF  SNOW       271 

my  opinion  inclines  decisively  to  the  earlier  rather  than 
the  later  season  as  offering  the  best  chances  of  cUmbing 
Mount  Everest.  We  cannot  of  course  assume  that  because 
September  was  a  bad  month  this  year  it  will  always  be  a 
bad  month.  But  supposing  the  monsoon  were  to  end 
punctually  and  a  fair  spell  to  have  set  in  by  the  first  day  of 
September — even  then  it  appears  to  me  improbable  that 
the  fresh  snow  fallen  during  the  monsoon  would  sufficiently 
melt  near  the  top  of  the  mountain  two  and  a  half  months 
after  midsummer.  As  to  the  prospects  of  wind,  we  can 
only  be  content  with  the  statement  that  in  this  particular 
year  the  wind  after  the  end  of  the  monsoon  would  alone 
have  defeated  even  the  most  determined  attempt  to  reach 
the  summit.  A  wind  strong  enough  to  blow  up  the  snow 
must  always,  I  believe,  prevent  an  ascent.  A  superman 
might  perhaps  be  found,  but  never  a  party  of  men  whose 
endurance  at  high  altitudes  would  warrant  the  risk  of 
exhaustion  in  struggling  for  long  hours  against  such  adverse 
circumstances.  For  the  earher  season  it  may  be  said  again, 
as  a  simple  observation  upon  which  little  enough  can  be 
built,  that  the  appearance  of  the  clouds  before  the  monsoon 
did  not  suggest  wind,  but  rather  a  calm  air  on  the  summit. 
What  precisely  the  conditions  may  be,  for  instance,  in  May 
and  June,  1922,  or  what  we  ought  normally  to  expect,  cannot 
be  determined  with  certainty.  Will  the  whole  of  the  snow 
fallen  during  the  monsoon  of  1921  have  melted  before  the 
next  moonsoon,  and  if  so  by  what  date  ?  Will  the  amount  of 
snow  on  the  mountain  be  the  same  in  June,  1922,  as  twelve 
months  before  ?  Or  will  black  and  white  appear  in  altered 
proportions  ?  And  if  the  snow  has  melted,  where  will  ice 
be  found  ?  It  might  well  be  that  under  the  North  Col  all 
the  steeper  slopes  will  have  lost  their  snow.  And  what  of 
the  final  arete  ?  One  conjecture  seems  as  good  as  another, 
and  the  experience  of  more  travelled  mountameers  will 
suggest  the  most  probable  answer  to  these  questions  with 
an  instinct  less  fallible  than  mine.  Nevertheless,  I  think  it 
may  be  said  that  the  chances  are  all  in  favour  of  the  earlier 


272    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

season.  We  know,  for  instance,  about  this  j^ear  that  snow 
must  have  melted  since  the  last  monsoon  and  actually  was 
melting  fast  in  June,  but  the  summer's  snow  does  not  always 
melt  before  the  winter — not  this  year,  for  instance :  the 
chances,  therefore,  of  finding  it  melted  in  June  are  better 
than  those  of  finding  it  melted  in  September.  It  may  be 
contended  that  it  might  then  have  melted  too  much  so  that 
a  party  would  find  ice  where  they  would  wish  to  find  snow. 
But  one  must  prefer  the  lesser  of  two  evils.  Ice  is  far  from 
an  insuperable  obstacle  on  Mount  Everest ;  almost  anywhere 
above  Chang  La  crampons  would  overcome  it :  but  powdery 
snow,  in  case  the  snow  has  melted  too  little,  is  a  deadly 
handicap.  Finally,  the  earlier  is  the  warmer  season  with 
less  danger  to  vulnerable  feet  and  requiring  a  lighter 
equipment. 


CHAPTER   XVII 
THE  ROUTE  TO  THE  SUIVmiT 

The  reader  who  has  carefully  followed  the  preceding 
story  will  hardly  have  failed  to  notice  that  the  route  which 
has  been  chosen  as  the  only  one  offering  reasonable  chances 
of  success  remains  still  very  largely  a  matter  of  speculation. 
But  the  reconnaissance,  unless  it  were  actually  to  reach 
the  summit,  was  obliged  to  leave  much  unproved,  and  its 
value  must  depend  upon  observations  in  various  sorts  and 
not  merely  upon  the  practice  of  treading  the  snow  and  rocks. 
Speculation  in  this  case  is  founded  upon  experience  of  certain 
phenomena  and  a  study  of  the  mountain's  features  ;  and 
it  is  by  relating  what  has  been  only  seen  with  known  facts 
that  inferences  have  been  drawTi. 

It  may  perhaps  be  accounted  a  misfortune  that  the 
party  of  1921  did  not  approach  Chang  La  by  the  East  Rongbuk 
Glacier.  The  Lhakpa  La  proved  a  bigger  obstacle  than 
was  expected.  But  in  conditions  such  as  we  hope  to  find 
before  the  monsoon,  this  way  would  have  much  to  recommend 
it.  It  avoids  all  laborious  walking  on  a  dry  glacier,  and 
with  hard  snow  the  walk  up  to  the  pass  from  the  camp  on 
stones  at  20,000  feet  should  not  be  unduly  fatiguing.  Still 
the  fact  remains  that  the  descent  from  the  Lhakpa  La  on 
to  the  East  Rongbuk  Glacier  is  not  less  than  1,200  feet. 
Would  it  not  be  better  to  follow  up  this  glacier  from  the 
Rongbuk  Valley  ?  The  absence  of  wood  on  this  side  need 
not  deter  the  party  of  1922.  For  them  plenty  of  time  will 
be  available  sufficiently  to  provide  their  base  with  fuel, 
and  the  sole  consideration  should  be  the  easiest  line  of 
approach ;  and  though  no  one  has  traversed  the  whole 
length  of  the  East  Rongbuk  Glacier,  enough  is  known  to 

M.E.  273  T 


274    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

choose  this  way  with  confidence.  Here,  as  on  other  glaciers 
which  we  saw,  the  difficulties  clearly  lie  below  the  limit  of 
perpetual  snow,  and  the  greater  part  of  them  were  avoided 
or  solved  by  Major  Wheeler,  who  found  a  practicable  way 
on  to  the  middle  of  the  glacier  at  about  19,000  feet,  and 
felt  certain  that  the  medial  moraine  ahead  of  him  would 
serve  for  an  ascent  and  be  no  more  arduous  than  the  moraines 
of  the  West  Rongbuk  Glacier  had  proved  to  be.  The  view 
of  this  way  from  the  Lhakpa  La  confirmed  his  opinion,  and 
though  it  may  be  called  a  speculation  to  choose  it,  whereas 
the  way  from  the  East  has  been  established  by  experiment, 
it  is  a  fair  inference  from  experience  to  conclude  that  the 
untraversed  section  of  the  East  Rongbuk  Glacier,  a  distance 
which  could  be  accomplished  very  easily  in  one  march  if  all 
went  well,  will  afford  a  simple  approach  to  Chang  La. 

The  Eastern  wall,  about  1,000  feet  high,  by  which  the 
gap  itself  must  be  reached,  can  never  be  lightly  esteemed. 
Here  reconnaissance  has  forged  a  link.  But  those  who 
reached  the  col  were  not  laden  with  tents  and  stores  ;  and 
on  another  occasion  the  conditions  may  be  different.  There 
may  be  the  danger  of  an  avalanche  or  the  difficulty  of  ice. 
From  what  we  saw  this  year  before  the  monsoon  had  brought 
a  heavy  snowfall  it  is  by  no  means  improbable  that  ice  will 
be  found  at  the  end  of  May  on  the  steepest  slope  below 
Chang  La.  In  that  case  much  labour  will  be  required  to 
hew  and  keep  in  repair  a  staircase,  and  perhaps  fix  a  banister, 
so  that  the  laden  coolies,  not  all  of  whom  will  be  competent 
ice-men,  may  be  brought  up  in  safety. 

The  summit  of  Mount  Everest  is  about  6,000  feet  above 
Chang  La ;  the  distance  is  something  like  2J  miles  and 
the  whole  of  it  is  unexplored.  What  grounds  have  we  for 
thinking  that  the  mountaineering  difficulties  will  not  prove 
insuperable,  that  in  so  far  as  mere  climbing  is  concerned 
the  route  is  practicable  ?  Two  factors,  generally  speaking, 
have  to  be  considered  :  the  nature  of  the  ground  and  the 
general  angle  of  inclination.  Where  the  climber  is  confined 
to  a  narrow  crest  and  can  find  no  way  to  circumvent  an 


THE   ROUTE  TO  THE  SUMMIT  275 

obstacle,  a  very  small  tower  or  wall,  a  matter  of  20  feet, 
may  bar  his  progress.  There  the  general  angle  may  be 
what  it  likes  :  the  important  matter  for  him  is  that  the 
angle  is  too  steep  in  a  particular  place.  But  on  a  mountain's 
face  where  his  choice  is  not  limited  to  a  strict  and  narrow 
way,  the  general  angle  is  of  primary  importance  :  if  it  is 
sufficiently  gentle,  the  climber  will  find  that  he  may  wander 
almost  where  he  will  to  avoid  the  steeper  places.  Long 
before  we  reached  Chang  La  Mr.  Bullock  and  I  were  fairly 
well  convinced  that  the  slope  from  here  to  the  North-east 
Shoulder  was  sufficiently  gentle  and  that  the  nature  of  the 
ill-defined  ridge  connecting  these  two  points  was  not  such 
as  to  Umit  the  choice  of  route  to  a  narrow  line.  Looking  up 
from  the  North  Col,  we  learnt  nothing  more  about  the  angles. 
The  view,  however,  was  not  without  value  ;  it  amply 
confirmed  our  opinion  as  to  the  character  of  what  lay  ahead 
of  us.  The  ridge  is  not  a  crest ;  its  section  is  a  wdde  and 
rounded  angle.  It  is  not  decorated  by  pinnacles,  it  does 
not  rise  in  steps.  It  presents  a  smooth  continuous  way, 
and  whether  the  rocks  are  still  covered  with  powdery  snow, 
or  only  slightly  sprinkled  and  for  the  most  part  bare,  the 
party  of  1922  should  be  able  to  go  up  a  long  way  at  all  events 
without  meeting  any  serious  obstacle.  It  may  not  prove  a 
perfectly  simple  matter  actually  to  reach  the  North-east 
arete  above  the  shoulder  at  about  28,000  feet.  The  angle 
becomes  steeper  towards  this  arete.  But  even  in  the  last 
section  below  it,  the  choice  of  a  way  should  not  be 
inconveniently  restricted.  On  the  right  of  the  ascending 
party  will  be  permanent  snow  on  various  sloping  ledges, 
an  easy  alternative  to  rocks  if  the  snow  is  found  in  good 
condition,  and  always  offering  a  detour  by  which  to  avoid 
an  obstacle. 

From  the  North-east  Shoulder  to  the  summit  of 
the  mountain  the  way  is  not  so  smooth.  The  rise  is 
only  1,000  feet  in  a  distance  of  half  a  mile,  but  the  first  part 
of  the  crest  is  distinctly  jagged  by  several  towers  and  the 
last  part  is  steep.     Much  will  depend  upon  the  possibiUty 


276    THE  RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

of  escaping  from  the  crest  to  avoid  the  obstacles  and  of 
regaining  it  easily.  The  South-east  side  (left  going  up)  is 
terribly  steep,  and  it  will  almost  certainly  be  out  of  the 
question  to  traverse  there.  But  the  sloping  snow-covered 
ledges  on  the  North-west  may  serve  very  well ;  the  difficulty 
about  them  is  their  tendency  to  be  horizontal  in  direction 
and  to  diverge  from  the  arete  where  it  slopes  upwards,  so 
that  a  party  which  had  followed  one  in  preference  to  the 
crest  might  find  themselves  cut  off  by  a  cliff  running  across 
the  face  above  them.  But  one  way  or  another  I  think  it 
should  be  possible  with  the  help  of  such  ledges  to  reach  the 
final  obstacle.  The  summit  itself  is  like  the  thin  end  of  a 
wedge  thrust  up  from  the  mass  in  which  it  is  embedded. 
The  edge  of  it,  with  the  highest  point  at  the  far  end,  can 
only  be  reached  from  the  North-east  by  climbing  a  steep 
blunt  edge  of  snow.  The  height  of  this  final  obstacle  must 
be  fully  200  feet.  Mr.  Bullock  and  I  examined  it  often 
through  our  field-glasses,  and  though  it  did  not  appear 
insuperable,  whatever  our  point  of  view,  it  never  looked 
anything  but  steep. 


To  determine  whether  it  is  humanly  possible  to  climb 
to  the  summit  of  Mount  Everest  or  what  may  be  the  chances 
of  success  in  such  an  undertaking,  other  factors  besides 
the  mere  mountaineering  difficulties  have  to  be  considered. 
It  is  at  least  probable  that  the  obstacles  presented  by  this 
mountain  could  be  overcome  by  any  competent  party  if 
they  met  them  in  the  Alps.  But  it  is  a  very  different  matter 
to  be  confronted  with  such  obstacles  at  elevations  between 
23,000  and  29,000  feet.  We  do  not  know  that  it  is 
physiologically  possible  at  such  high  altitudes  for  the  human 
body  to  make  the  efforts  required  to  lift  itself  up  even  on 
the  simplest  ground.  The  condition  of  the  party  of  1921 
in  September  during  the  days  of  the  Assault  cannot  be  taken 
as  evidence  that  the  feat  is  impossible.  The  long  periods 
spent    in    high    camps    and    the    tax    of    many    exhausting 


THE  ROUTE  TO  THE  SUMMIT  277 

expeditions  had  undoubtedly  reduced  the  physical  efficiency 
of  Sahibs  and  coolies  alike.  The  party  of  1922,  on  the  other 
hand,  will  presumably  choose  for  their  attempt  a  time  when 
the  climbers  are  at  the  top  of  their  form  and  their  powers 
will  depend  on  the  extent  of  their  adaptability  to  the  condition 
of  high  altitude.  Nothing  perhaps  was  so  astonishing  in 
the  party  of  reconnaissance  as  the  rapidity  with  which  they 
became  acclimatised  and  capable  of  great  exertions  between 
18,000  and  21,000  feet.  Where  is  the  limit  of  this  process  ? 
Will  the  multiplication  of  red  corpuscles  continue  so  that 
men  may  become  acclimatised  much  higher  ?  There  is 
evidence  enough  to  show  that  they  may  exist  comfortably 
enough,  eating  and  digesting  hearty  meals  and  retaining  a 
feeling  of  vitality  and  energy  up  to  23,000  feet.  It  may  be 
that,  after  two  or  three  days  quietly  spent  at  this  height, 
the  body  would  sufficiently  adjust  itself  to  endure  the  still 
greater  difference  from  normal  atmospheric  pressure  6,000  feet 
higher.  At  all  events,  a  practical  test  can  alone  provide  the 
proof  in  such  a  case.  Experiments  carried  out  in  a  laboratory 
by  putting  a  man  into  a  sealed  chamber  and  reducing  the 
pressure  say  to  half  an  atmosphere,  valuable  as  they  may 
be  when  related  to  the  experiences  of  airmen,  can  establish 
nothing  for  mountaineers  ;  for  they  leave  out  of  account 
the  all-important  physiological  factor  of  acclimatisation. 
But  in  any  case  it  is  to  be  expected  that  efforts  above 
23,000  feet  will  be  more  exhausting  than  those  at  lower 
elevations  ;  and  it  may  well  be  that  the  nature  of  the  ground 
will  turn  the  scale  against  the  climber.  For  him  it  is  all 
important  that  he  should  be  able  to  breathe  regularly,  the 
demand  upon  his  lungs  along  the  final  arete  cannot  fail  to 
be  a  terrible  strain,  and  anything  like  a  tussle  up  some  steep 
obstacle  which  would  interfere  with  the  regularity  of  his 
breathing  might  prove  to  be  an  ordeal  beyond  his  strength. 
As  a  way  out  of  these  difficulties  of  breathing,  the  use 
of  oxygen  has  often  been  recommended  and  experiments 
were  made  by  Dr.  Kellas,*  which  will  be  continued  in  1922. 
*  See  Geographical  Journal, 


278    THE   RECONNAISSANCE   OF  THE  MOUNTAIN 

Even  so  there  will  remain  the  difficulty  of  establishing 
one  or  perhaps  two  camps  above  Chang  La  (23,000  feet). 
It  is  by  no  means  certain  that  any  place  exists  above  this 
point  on  which  tents  could  be  pitched.  Perhaps  the  party 
will  manage  without  tents,  but  no  great  economy  of  weight 
will  be  effected  that  way  ;  those  who  sleep  out  at  an  elevation 
of  25,000  or  26,000  feet  will  have  to  be  bountifully  provided 
with  warm  things.  Probably  about  fifteen,  or  at  least 
twelve  loads  will  have  to  be  carried  up  from  Chang  La. 
It  is  not  expected  that  oxygen  will  be  available  for  this 
purpose,  and  the  task,  whatever  organisation  is  provided, 
will  be  severe,  possibly  beyond  the  limits  of  human  strength. 

Further,  another  sort  of  difficulty  will  jeopardise  the 
chances  of  success.  It  might  be  possible  for  two  men  to 
struggle  somehow  to  the  summit,  disregarding  every  other 
consideration.  It  is  a  different  matter  to  climb  the  mountain 
as  mountaineers  would  have  it  climbed.  Principles,  time- 
honoured  in  the  Alpine  Club,  must  of  course  be  respected 
in  the  ascent  of  Mount  Everest.  The  party  must  keep  a 
margin  of  safety.  It  is  not  to  be  a  mad  enterprise  rashly 
pushed  on  regardless  of  danger.  The  ill-considered  acceptance 
of  any  and  every  risk  has  no  part  in  the  essence  of  persevering 
courage.  A  mountaineering  enterprise  may  keep  sanity  and 
sound  judgment  and  remain  an  adventure.  And  of  aU 
principles  by  which  we  hold  the  first  is  that  of  mutual  help. 
What  is  to  be  done  for  a  man  who  is  sick  or  abnormally 
exhausted  at  these  high  altitudes  ?  His  companions  must 
see  to  it  that  he  is  taken  down  at  the  first  opportunity  and 
with  an  adequate  escort ;  and  the  obligation  is  the  same 
whether  he  be  Sahib  or  coolie  ;  if  we  ask  a  man  to  carry 
our  loads  up  the  mountain  we  must  care  for  his  welfare  at 
need.  It  may  be  taken  for  granted  that  such  need  will 
arise  and  will  interfere  very  seriously  with  any  organisation 
however  ingeniously  and  carefully  it  may  be  arranged. 

In  all  it  may  be  said  that  one  factor  beyond  all  others 
is  required  for  success.     Too  many  chances  e^re  against  th« 


THE  ROUTE  TO  THE  SUMMIT  279 

climbers  ;  too  many  contingencies  may  turn  against  them. 
Anything  like  a  breakdown  of  the  transport  will  be  fatal ; 
soft  snow  on  the  mountain  will  be  an  impregnable  defence  ; 
a  big  wind  will  send  back  the  strongest ;  even  so  small  a 
matter  as  a  boot  fitting  a  shade  too  tight  may  endanger 
one  man's  foot  and  involve  the  whole  party  in  retreat.  The 
climbers  must  have  above  all  things,  if  they  are  to  win  through, 
good  fortune,  and  the  greatest  good  fortune  of  all  for 
mountaineers,  some  constant  spirit  of  kindness  in  Mount 
Everest  itself,  the  forgetfulness  for  long  enough  of  its  more 
cruel  moods  ;  for  we  must  remember  that  the  highest  of 
mountains  is  capable  of  severity,  a  severity  so  awful  and  so 
fatal  that  the  wiser  sort  of  men  do  well  to  think  and  tremble 
even  on  the  threshold  of  their  high  endeavour. 


NATURAL    HISTORY 

By  a.  F.  R.  WOLLASTON 

CHAPTER  XVIII 
AN  EXCURSION  TO  NYENYAM  AND  LAPCHE  KANG 

By  a  liberal  interpretation  of  the  expression  "  Mount 
Everest "  we  considered  it  necessary  to  explore  the 
surrounding  country  as  far  as  a  hundred  miles  or  more  from 
the  mountain,  East,  North  and  South  ;  in  all  directions, 
that  is,  excepting  toward  the  forbidden  territory  of  Nepal. 
So  it  happened  one  day  in  July  that  Major  Morshead  and  I, 
already  nearly  fifty  miles  from  Everest,  set  out  in  a 
South-westerly  direction,  he  anxious  to  add  a  few  hundred 
square  miles  of  new  country  to  his  map,  and  I  intent  on 
animals  and  plants.  Our  way  lay  across  the  Tingri  Plain 
to  Langkor,  both  names  famous  in  the  annals  of  Tibetan 
Buddhism.  The  following  story  was  told  us  by  an  old  monk 
in  the  monastery  at  Langkor  : — 

Many  generations  ago  there  was  born  in  the  Indian  village 
of  Pulahari  a  child  named  Tamba  Sangay.  When  he  grew 
into  a  youth  he  became  restless  and  dissatisfied  with  his 
native  place,  so  he  went  to  visit  the  Lord  Buddha  and  asked 
him  what  he  should  do.  The  Lord  Buddha  told  him  that 
he  must  take  a  stone  and  throw  it  far,  and  where  the  stone 
fell  there  he  should  spend  his  life.  So  Tamba  Sangay  took 
a  rounded  stone  and  threw  it  far,  so  that  no  one  saw  where 
it  fell.  Many  months  he  sought  in  vain  until  he  passed 
over  the  Hills  into  Tibet,  and  there  he  came  to  a  place  where, 
although  it  was  winter,  was  a  large  black  space  bare  of  snow. 

281 


282  NATURAL  HISTORY 

The  people  told  him  that  the  cattle  walked  round  and  round 
in  that  space  to  keep  it  clear  from  snow,  and  in  the  middle 
of  it  was  a  rounded  stone.  So  Tamba  Sangay  knew  that 
the  stone  was  his,  and  there  he  made  a  cell  and  dwelt  until 
he  was  taken  on  wings  to  Heaven.  And  the  place  is  called 
Langkor,  which  means  "  the  cattle  go  round,"  to  this  day. 
The  people  for  many  miles  about  had  heard  the  stone  as  it 
came  flying  over  the  Hills  from  India  ;  it  made  a  whistling 
sound  like  Ting,  so  the  country  came  to  be  called  Tingri,  the 
Hill  of  the  Ting. 

We  visited  the  Langkor  monastery  and  saw  the  casket 
in  which  the  stone  of  Tamba  Sangay  is  kept,  only  to  be  opened 
once  a  year  by  a  high  dignitary  from  Lhasa.  Close  by 
was  a  fair-sized  river,  the  bridge  over  which  had  been 
carried  away  by  a  recent  flood.  The  greater  part  of  the 
population  was  busily  engaged  in  repairing  the  bridge,  to  the 
accompaniment  at  frequent  intervals  of  hideous  blasts  on  a 
large  conch-sheU  :  this,  we  were  told,  was  to  keep  the  rain 
away  and  stop  the  floods.  Rain  fell  heavily  in  spite  of  the 
noise,  but  the  bridge  was  finished  before  nightfall. 

On  the  follomng  day  we  had  a  long  pull  of  many  miles 
up  to  the  Thung  La,  a  pass  of  18,000  feet,  from  which  we 
had  hoped  for  fine  views  over  the  surrounding  country.  A 
driving  storm  of  snow  blotted  out  the  views  and  covered 
the  ground,  so  that  nothing  was  to  be  seen  but  little  clumps, 
a  few  inches  high,  of  poppies  of  the  most  heavenly  blue. 
Going  down  the  steep  track  beyond  the  pass  I  was  stopped 
by  hearing  the  unfamiliar  note  of  a  bird,  so  it  seemed :  the 
cry  was  almost  exactly  that  of  a  female  peregrine  when  its 
eyrie  has  been  disturbed,  but  coming  from  a  labyrinth  of 
fallen  rocks  it  could  not  be.  Tracking  the  note  from  one 
rock  to  another,  I  came  suddenly  within  a  few  yards  of  a 
large  marmot,  which  sat  up  and  waved  her  tail  at  me  ;  she 
called  again  and  two  half-grown  young  ones  appeared  close 
by ;  then  all  dived  into  a  burrow.  These  marmots  are 
larger  and  far  less  timid  of  mankind  than  the  marmots  of 
the  Alps. 


NYENYAM  AND   LAPCHE  KANG  283 

A  few  miles  below  the  pass  the  valley  widened  into  an 
almost  level  bottom  of  half  a  mile  or  more,  with  steep  bare 
limestone  hills  on  either  side.  Here  and  there  were  small 
hamlets,  where  the  inhabitants  used  the  water  of  the  river 
to  irrigate  their  fields  of  barley  and  of  blazing  golden  mustard, 
whose  sweetness  scented  the  valley  in  the  sunshine.  Like 
most  of  the  butter,  which  is  made  in  vast  quantities  in 
Southern  Tibet,  the  mustard  seed  produces  oil  for  monastery 
lamps.  At  one  place  we  came  across  a  spring,  almost  a 
fountain,  bubbling  out  of  the  foothill,  of  clearest  sparkling 
mineral  water  that  would  be  the  envy  of  Bath  or  of 
Marienbad ;  in  a  few  yards  it  had  become  a  racing  stream  a 
dozen  feet  in  width. 

Four  days  of  leisurely  walking  down  the  valley  brought 
us  to  the  village  of  Nyenyam,  where  the  whole  population, 
a  most  unpleasant-looking  crowd  of  four  or  five  hundred 
people,  came  out  to  stare  at  us.  A  few  only  were  Tibetans  ; 
the  majority  were  obviously  of  Indian  origin,  calling 
themselves  Nepalese,  but  without  any  of  the  distinctive 
features  of  that  race.  We  had  received  some  weeks  earlier 
a  cordial  invitation  from  the  Jongpens  of  Nyenyam  to  visit 
the  place,  and  we  were  accordingly  much  disappointed  to 
find  that  no  person  of  authority  came  out  to  welcome  us. 
A  Jongpen,  it  should  be  said,  is  an  official  appointed  by 
the  Lhasa  authorities  to  administer  a  district  and  collect 
revenues  :  in  a  place  of  any  importance,  as  at  Nyenyam, 
there  are  often  two,  the  idea  being  that  one  will  keep  an  eye 
on  the  other  and  prevent  him  from  over-enriching  himself. 
We  visited  these  worthies,  whom  we  found  dressed  in  priceless 
Chinese  silk  gowns  and  cultivating  the  extreme  fashion  of 
long  nails  on  all  their  fingers,  in  strange  contrast  to  the  squalor 
and  dilapidation  of  their  dwelling,  and  were  annoyed  to  find 
that  they  denied  all  knowledge  of  the  invitation.  The 
bearer  of  the  message  was  produced  and  lied  manfully  in 
theu'  cause  ;  the  name  of  Nyenyam  was  not,  as  it  happened, 
mentioned  in  our  passport,  and  we  were  made  to  look 
somewhat  foolish.     Finally  the  Jongpens  said   (with   their 


284  NATURAL  HISTORY 

tongues  in  their  cheeks  and  reminding  us  of  a  vulgar  song) 

that  they  were  very  glad  to  see  us,  but  they  hoped  that  we 

would  go.     They  then  went  out  of  their  way  to  give  us  false 

information  about  the  local  passes  and  made  our  prolonged 

stay  in  the  place  impossible  by  discouraging  the  traders  from 

dealing  with  us.* 

Nyenyam,   though   more   squalid   and   evil-smelling   than 

any  place  in  my  experience,  is  of  some  importance  as  being 

the  last  Tibetan  town  before  the  frontier  of  Nepal  is  reached. 

It  is  well  placed  on  a  level  terrace  above  the  junction  of  the 

Po  Chu  with  an  almost  equally  big  river  flowing  from  the 

glaciers    of     the     great     mountain     mass     of     Gosainthan. 

Immediately  below  the  town  the  river  enters  the  stupendous 

gorge  that  cuts  through  the  heart  of  the  Himalaya  to  the 

more  open  country  of  Nepal,  8,000  feet  below.     To  the  West 

of  Nyenyam  rises  a  great  range  of  mountains  culminating 

in  the  beautiful  peaks  of  Gosainthan,  which  we  had  hoped 

to   visit,   and  somewhere  to   the    East  lay  the  mysterious 

sacred  mountain  of  Lapche  Kang.     Our  friends  the  Jongpens 

assured  us  that  there  was  no  direct  route  to  Lapche,  that  we 

must  go  back  the  way  by  which  we  had  come,  and  so  on  ; 

but  we  were  weary  of  their  obstructions  and  made  up  our 

minds  to  find  a  way  to  the  holy  places. 

So  far  our  transport  animals  had  been  the  yak,  or  the 

cross-bred  ox-yak,   a  stronger  beast ;    we  were  now  going 

through  country  where  only  coolies  could  carry  loads.     We 

retraced  our  steps  a  few  miles  up  the  valley  to  a  village  ruled 

over  by  a  friendly  woman,  the  widow  of  the  late  headman. 

True,  she  demanded  for  the  coolies  an  exorbitant  wage,  which 

we  cut  down  by  about  a  half,  but  she  pressed  into  our  service 

every  able-bodied  person  in  the  neighbourhood,  young  and 

old,  men  and  women.     They  have  a  fair  and  simple  way 

of  apportioning   the   loads.     All  Tibetans,  men  and  women 

alike,  wear  long  rope-soled  boots  with  woollen  cloth  tops 

extending  toward  the  knee,  where  they  are  secured  by  garters, 

*  In  fairness  it  must  be  said  that  this  was  the  only  occasion  on  which 
we  met  with  anything  but  help  and  civility  from  Tibetan  officials. 


NYENYAM  AND   LAPCHE  KANG  285 

long  strips  of  narrow  woven  cloth.  When  all  the  loads  are 
ready,  each  person  takes  off  one  garter  and  gives  it  to  the 
headman,  who  shuffles  them  well  and  in  his  turn  hands  them 
over  to  some  neutral  person  who  knows  not  the  ownership 
of  the  garters.  He  lays  one  on  the  top  of  each  load,  and 
whose  garter  it  is  must  carry  the  load  without  any  further 
talk.  It  is  amusing  to  watch  the  excitement  in  their  faces 
as  the  garters  are  dealt  out,  and  to  hear  the  shrieks  of  delight 
of  the  lucky  ones  and  the  groans  of  the  less  fortunate.  It 
makes  one  feel  weak  and  ashamed  to  see  a  smaU  girl  of 
apparently  no  more  than  fourteen  years  shouldering  a  huge 
tent  or  an  unwieldy  box,  until  one  remembers  that  they 
begin  to  carry  almost  as  soon  as  they  can  walk  and  are 
accustomed  to  far  heavier  loads  than  ever  they  carry  for  us. 

Our  path  led  us  up  a  steep  side-vaUey  from  the  Po  Cliu, 
ascending  over  a  vast  moraine  to  the  foot  of  a  small  glacier 
about  two  miles  in  length.  Here  I  saw  a  rare  sight:  a 
Lammergeier  (bearded  vulture)  came  sailing  down  in  wide 
circles  and  settled  on  the  ice  barely  a  hundred  paces  from 
us,  where  he  began  to  peck  at  something — a  dead  hare 
perhaps,  but  it  was  impossible  to  see  or  to  approach  nearer 
over  the  crevasses.  The  Lammergeier,  vulture  though  it  is, 
is  one  of  the  noblest  birds  in  flight  that  may  be  seen  :  hardly 
a  day  passes  in  the  high  mountains  without  one  or  more 
swooping  down  to  look  at  you,  sometimes  so  near  that  you 
can  see  his  beard  and  gleaming  eye  ;  but  to  see  one  on  the 
ground  is  rare  indeed.  The  long-tailed  aeroplane  at  a  very 
great  height  resembles  the  Lammergeier  more  than  any  other 
bird. 

We  struggled  up  the  glacier,  inches  deep  in  soft  new 
snow,  crossed  crevasses  by  means  of  rotten  planks  which 
gravely  offended  our  mountaineering  sense,  and  came  through 
dense  fog  to  our  pass  at  its  head.  Here  began  the  sacred 
mountain  of  Lapche  Kang,  and  on  the  rocks  beside  the  pass, 
and  on  many  of  the  pinnacles  high  up  above  the  pass  as  well, 
were  cairns  of  stones  sui:)porting  Uttle  reed-stemmed  flags 
of  prayers.     Some  of  our  party  had  brought  up  from  below 


286  NATURAL  HISTORY 

such  little  flags,  which  they  planted  where  their  fancy 
prompted.  As  we  went  dowTi  on  the  other  side  we  came  to 
countless  little  "  chortens,"  miniature  temples,  and,  where 
the  ground  was  level  for  a  space,  to  long  walls  of  stones, 
each  one  inscribed  with   the   universal  Buddhist  prayer  OM 

MANI   PADME   HUM. 

Yaks  are  most  satisfactory  beasts  of  burden  ;  if  their  pace 
is  slow — it  is  seldom  more  than  two  miles  an  hour — ^they  go 
with  hardly  a  halt,  cropping  a  tuft  of  grass  here  and  there, 
until  daylight  fails.  But  the  Tibetan  coolie  is  of  quite 
another  nature  ;  he  (or  she)  starts  off  gaily  enough  in  the 
mornmg,  but  very  soon  he  is  glad  to  stop  for  a  gossip  or  to 
alter  the  trim  of  his  load,  and  then  it  is  time  to  drink  tea,  and 
again  at  every  convenient  halting-place  more  tea,  not  the 
liquid  that  we  are  accustomed  to  drink,  but  a  curious  mixture 
of  powdered  brick-tea,  salt,  soda  and  butter,  of  a  better  taste 
than  one  would  suppose.  So  on  this  occasion  it  was  long 
after  noon  when  we  had  crossed  the  pass,  and  when  the  day 
began  to  fade  in  a  drenching  cloud  of  rain,  the  Tibetans 
found  shelter  in  some  caves,  and  persuaded  us  to  camp.  An 
uneven  space  among  rocks  just  held  our  tents  ;  we  dined 
off  the  fragrant  smoke  of  green  rhododendi^on  and  soaking 
juniper,  and  we  slept  (if  at  all)  to  the  roar  of  boulders  rolhng 
in  the  torrent-bed  a  few  feet  from  where  we  lay. 

But  it  was  well  that  we  had  not  stumbled  on  in  the  dark. 
In  the  morning  light  we  walked  over  grassy  "  alps  "  still 
yellow  with  sweet-scented  primulas,  and  the  steep  sides  of 
the  narrowing  valley  below  were  bright  with  roses,  pink  and 
white  spirseas,  yellow  berberis  and  many  other  flowers. 
Soon  it  became  evident  that  we  were  approaching  a  place  of 
more  than  ordinary  holiness  ;  every  stone  had  its  prayer-flag, 
and  the  tops  of  trees,  which  began  to  appear  here,  were  also 
decorated.  Great  boulders  were  defaced  with  the  familiar 
words  engraven  on  them  in  letters  many  feet  in  height.  In 
a  little  while  we  came  to  a  small  wooden  hut  filled  from 
floor  to  roof  with  thousands  of  little  flags  brought  there  by 
pilgrims  ;   the  posts  and  lintel  of  the  door  were  smeared  with 


NYENYAM  AND   LAPCHE   KANG  287 

dabs  of  butter,  and  the  crevices  of  the  walls  were  filled  with 
little  bunches  of  fresh-cut  flowers.  Outside  was  a  rude  altar 
made  of  stones  from  the  river-bed,  where  a  Lama  was  burning 
incense  and  chanting  prayers. 

We  passed  through  the  village,  a  tiny  hamlet  of  a  dozen 
houses,  and  came  to  the  celebrated  temple  of  Lapche.  A 
square  stone  wall,  about  60  yards  each  way,  on  the  inner 
side  of  which  are  sheds  to  shelter  pilgrims,  encloses  a  roughly 
paved  courtyard  where  stands  the  temple,  a  plain  square 
building  of  stone  with  a  pagoda-like  roof  surmounted  by  a 
burnished  copper  ornament.  There  is  nothing  remarkable 
about  the  temple  excepting  the  hundred  and  more  prayer 
wheels  set  in  the  wall  at  a  convenient  height  for  the  pilgrims 
to  turn  as  they  walk  round  the  building.  Inside  are  countless 
Buddhas,  the  usual  smell  of  smoky  butter-lamps,  and  an 
effigy  of  the  saint.  The  whole  place  is  dirty  and  dishevelled, 
in  the  supposed  care  of  one  old  woman  and  a  monk,  and 
nobody  would  believe  that  this  is  one  of  the  most  famous 
places  in  the  country  and  that  every  year  hundreds  of 
Buddhists  from  India  and  from  all  parts  of  Tibet  make 
pilgrimage  to  it. 

Mila  Respa,  poet  and  saint  and  (it  is  said)  a  Tibetan 
incarnation  of  Buddha,  spent  his  earthly  life  in  this  mountain 
valley,  living  under  rocks  and  in  caves,  where  the  faithful 
may  see  his  footprints  even  now.  He  seems  to  have  been 
not  lacking  in  a  sense  of  humour.  He  was  walking  with  a 
disciple  on  the  mountain  one  day,  when  they  found  an  old 
yak's  horn  Ijdng  in  the  path.  Mila  Respa  told  the  disciple 
to  pick  it  up  and  take  it  with  him.  The  disciple  refused, 
saying  that  it  was  useless,  and  passed  on  without  noticing 
that  the  saint  himself  had  picked  up  the  horn  and  put  it 
under  his  cloak.  Soon  afterwards  a  mighty  storm  descended 
on  them — whether  or  not  it  was  caused  by  the  saint  is  not 
known.  He  took  the  horn  from  under  his  cloak  and  crept 
inside  it.  "  Now,"  said  he,  when  he  was  safely  sheltered 
from  the  rain,  "  you  see  that  nothing  in  the  world  is  useless." 

We  stayed  for  two  days  at  Lapche  Kang,  picking  flowers 


288  NATURAL  HISTORY 

and  enjoying  the  beauty  of  the  place,  in  spite  of  the  clouds 
which  swept  up  from  the  South  and  filled  the  valley  from 
early  morning  onwards.  To  a  naturalist  it  was  a  tantahzing 
place  ;  there  were  many  unfamiliar  birds  that  we  had  not 
seen  in  Tibet,  but  in  such  a  sacred  place  I  dared  not  offend 
the  people  by  taking  life,  and  I  even  had  some  qualms  in 
catching  butterflies.  One  of  the  prettiest  sights  I  saw  was 
a  wall-creeper,  like  a  big  crimson-winged  moth,  fluttering 
over  the  temple  buildings  in  search  for  insects. 

Having  found  Lapche  Kang,  where  no  European  had 
before  penetrated,  and  having  placed  it  on  the  map,  our  next 
object  was  to  go  over  the  ranges  Eastward  to  the  Rongshar 
Valley,  the  head  of  which  had  been  visited  by  members  of 
the  Expedition  a  few  weeks  earlier.  This  was  accomplished 
in  two  long  days  of  rather  confused  climbing  over  two  passes 
of  about  17,000  feet,  crossing  sundry  glaciers  and  stumbling 
over  moraines,  and  nearly  always  in  an  impenetrable  fog. 
Our  views  of  mountains  were  none  at  all,  but  the  beauty 
of  the  flowers  at  our  feet  was  almost  compensation  for  that. 
Among  many  stand  out  two  in  particular,  both  of  them 
primulas.  One  was  ivory-white,  about  the  bigness  of  a 
cowslip,  with  wide  open  bells  and  the  most  delicate  primrose 
scent :  the  other  carried  from  four  to  six  bells,  each  as  big 
as  a  lady's  thimble,  of  deep  azure  blue  and  lined  inside  with 
frosted  silver.* 

As  we  went  down  the  last  steep  slope  into  the  Rongshar 
Valley,  the  clouds  parted  for  a  few  moments,  and  across  the 
valley  and  incredibly  high  above  our  heads  appeared  the 
summit  of  Gauri-Sankar,f  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of 
Himalayan  peaks,  blazing  in  the  afternoon  sun.  It  was  a 
glorious  vision,  but  it  rather  added  to  our  regret  for  the  views 
of  peaks  that  we  might  have  seen.  The  next  morning  at 
daybreak  the  whole  mountain  was  clear  from  its  foot  in  the 

*  Both  of  these  are  new  species ;  the  former  has  been  described  as 
Primula  Bury  ana,  the  latter  as  P.  Wollastonii. 

I  Gauri-Sankar  (23,440  ft.)  was  for  many  years  confused  with  Mount 
Everest,  which  is  still  misnamed  Gauri-Sankar  in  German  maps. 


Galri-Sankar. 


NYENYAM  AND   LAPCHE    KANG  289 

Rongshar  River  (10,000  feet)  up  through  woods  of  pine 
and  birch,  to  rhododendrons  and  rocks,  and  so  by  a  knife- 
edged  ridge  of  ice  to  its  ghstening  summit.  It  recalled  to 
me  the  Bietsch-horn  more  than  any  other  Alpine  peak,  a 
Bietsch-horn  on  the  giant  scale  and  seemingly  impassable 
to  man. 

The  valley  of  the  Rongshar,  Hke  the  Nyenyam  and  other 
valleys  we  had  visited,  though  within  the  Tibetan  border, 
is  really  more  Nepalese  in  character.  The  chmate  is  much 
damper  than  in  Tibet,  as  one  can  see  by  the  wisps  of  Hchen 
on  the  trees  and  the  greenness  of  the  vegetation  far  up  the 
mountain  sides,  especially  at  this  season  of  monsoon,  when 
the  South  wind  blows  dense  clouds  of  drenching  moisture 
through  the  gorges.  Like  those  valleys  the  Rongshar  is 
sacred,  which  is  inconvenient  when  the  question  of  food 
supply  is  pressing.  The  people  had  cattle  and  flocks  of 
goats  ;  they  would  sell  us  an  ox  or  a  goat,  but  we  must  not 
kill  it  within  the  valley,  or  ill-luck  would  come  to  them. 
They  were  a  friendly  and  good-tempered  people,  much  given 
to  religion.  In  many  places  we  had  seen  prayer  wheels 
worked  by  water,  but  here  for  the  first  time  we  saw  one 
driven  by  the  wind.  Though  it  does  not  do  much  work  at 
night,  it  probably  steals  a  march  on  the  water  wheels  in 
winter,  when  the  streams  are  frozen. 

We  walked  up  the  vaUey  of  Rongshar,  which  in  July 
should  be  called  the  VaUey  of  Roses  ;  on  all  sides  were  bushes, 
trees  almost,  of  the  deep  red  single  rose  in  bloom,  and  the 
air  was  filled  with  the  scent  of  them.  After  a  journey  of 
about  150  miles  through  unknown  country  we  came  to  the 
village  of  Tazang,  which  had  been  visited  by  some  of  us 
before.  Thence  over  the  Phiise  La  (the  Pass  of  SmaU  Rats) 
we  came  into  real  Tibet  again,  and  so  in  a  few  days  to  the 
Eastern  side  of  Mount  Everest. 


M.E. 


CHAPTER   XIX 
NATURAL  HISTORY  NOTES 

To  a  naturalist  Tibet  ofEers  considerable  difficulties  :  it 
is  true  that  in  some  places  animals  are  so  tame  that  they 
will  almost  eat  out  of  jonv  hand ;  for  instance,  in  the 
Rongbuk  Valley  the  burrhel  (wild  sheep)  come  to  the  cells 
of  the  hermits  for  food,  and  in  every  village  the  ravens  and 
rock-doves  are  as  fearless  as  the  sparrows  in  London.  But 
against  this  tameness  must  be  set  the  Buddhist  religion, 
which  forbids  the  people  from  taking  life,  so  that,  whereas 
in  most  countries  the  native  children  are  the  best  friends 
of  the  naturaUst,  in  Tibet  we  got  no  help  from  them  what- 
ever. Also,  in  order  to  avoid  giving  possible  offence,  we 
were  careful  to  refrain  from  shooting  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  monasteries  and  villages,  and  that  was  a  very  severe 
drawback,  as  birds  congregated  principally  about  the  culti- 
vated lands  near  villages.  Another  difficulty  we  found  was 
in  catching  small  mammals,  which  showed  the  greatest 
reluctance  to  enter  our  traps,  whatever  the  bait  might  be. 
One  species  only,  a  vole  (Phaiomys  leucurus),  was  trapped ; 
all  the  others  were  shot,  and  that  involved  a  considerable 
expenditure  of  time  in  waiting  motionless  beside  burrows. 
In  spite  of  these  disadvantages  we  made  considerable 
collections  of  mammals  and  birds,  and  we  brought  back  a 
large  number  of  dried  plants  and  seeds,  many  of  which  it 
is  hoped  wiU  Hve  in  the  gardens  of  this  country. 

Crossing  over  the  Jelep  La  from  Sikkim  into  Tibet  in 
the  latter  part  of  May  we  found  the  country  at  12,000  feet 
and  upwards  at  the  height  of  spring.  The  open  level  spaces 
were  carpeted  with  a  dark  purple  and  yellow  primula  (P. 
gammieana),   a  delicate  little  yellow  flower  {Lloydia  tibetica) 

290 


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Low  i-.K    K  \\i  \-iiir. 


NATURAL  HISTORY  NOTES  291 

and  many  saxifrages.  The  steep  hillsides  were  ablaze 
with  the  flowers  of  the  large  rhododendrons  {R.  thomsoni^ 
R.  falconeri,  R.  aucklandi)  and  the  smaller  Rhododendron 
campylocarpum,  an  almost  infinite  variety  of  colours.*  A 
descent  through  woods  of  pines,  oaks  and  walnuts  brought 
us  to  the  picturesque  village  of  Richengong,  in  the  Chumbi 
Valley,  where  we  found  house-martins  nesting  under  the 
eaves  of  the  houses.  Following  up  the  Ammo  Chu,  in  its 
lower  course  between  9,000  and  12,000  feet,  we  found  the 
valley  gay  with  pink  and  white  spiraeas  and  cotoneasters, 
red  and  white  roses,  yellow  berberis,  a  fragrant  white-flowered 
bog-myrtle,  anemones  and  white  clematis.  Dippers,  wag- 
tails and  the  white-capped  redstart  were  the  commonest 
birds  along  the  river-banks.  From  Yatung  we  made  an 
excursion  of  a  few  miles  up  the  Kambu  Valley,  and  there 
found  a  very  beautiful  Enkianthus  [Enhianthus  himalaicus), 
a  small  tree  about  15  feet  high,  with  clusters  of  pink  and 
white  flowers  ;  in  the  autumn  the  leaves  turn  to  a  deep 
copper  red. 

At  about  11,000  feet  is  a  level  terrace,  the  plain  of 
Lingmatang,  where  the  stream  meanders  for  two  or  three 
miles  through  a  lovely  meadow  covered  in  the  spring  with 
a  tiny  pink  primula  (P.  minutissima) :  it  looks  a  perfect 
trout  stream,  but  what  fish  there  are  {Schizopygopsis  stoUczae) 
are  small  and  few  in  number. 

Between  11,000  and  13,000  feet  you  ascend  through 
mixed  woods  of  pine,  larch,  birch  and  juniper  with  an 
undergrowth  of  rhododendrons  and  mountain  ash.  The 
larches  here  have  a  much  less  formal  habit  of  growth  than 
those  of  this  country,  and  in  the  autumn  they  turn  to  a 
brilliant  golden  colour.  The  berries  of  the  mountain  ash, 
when  ripe,  are  white  and  very  conspicuous.  At  this  altitude 
Rhododendron    cinnaharinum    reaches    its    best    growth,    in 

*  We  marked  many  of  the  best-flowering  specimens  with  the  intention 
of  collecting  their  seeds  on  our  return  in  the  autumn.  Unfortunately  when 
we  came  over  the  Jelep  La  in  October  it  was  in  a  heavy  snowstorm  which 
made  collecting  impossible. 


292  MOUNT  EVEREST 

bushes  of  from  8  to  10  feet  in  height,  and  the  flowers  have 
a  very  vnde  range  of  colour.  In  the  woods  hereabouts 
may  often  be  heard  and  sometimes  seen  the  blood  pheasant, 
and  here  lives  also — but  we  did  not  see  it — the  Tibetan 
stag. 

At  about  13,000  feet  at  the  end  of  May  you  find  a  yellow 
primula  covering  the  ground  more  thickly  than  cowshps  in 
this  country  ;  the  air  is  laden  with  the  scent  of  it,  and 
growing  with  it  is  a  pretty  little  heath-like  flower  {Cassiope 
fastigiata)  with  snow-white  bells.  Here  and  there  is  seen 
the  large  blue  poppy  (Meconopsis  sp.)  and  a  white  anemone 
with  five  or  six  flowers  on  one  stem.  Soon  the  trees  get 
scantier  and  scantier,  pines  disappear  altogether  and  then 
birches  and  willows  and  junipers,  until  only  dwarf  rhododen- 
drons (R.  setosum)  are  left,  covering  the  hillsides  Hke  purple 
heather. 

In  a  few  miles  the  country  changes  in  character 
completely,  and  you  come  out  on  to  the  open  plain  of  Phari. 
Here  at  14,000  feet  we  saw  the  common  cuckoo  sitting  on 
a  telegraph  wire  and  calHng  vigorously.  This  is  Tibet 
proper,  and  henceforward  you  may  travel  for  scores  of  miles 
and  hardly  see  any  plant  more  than  a  few  inches  high.  In 
some  places  a  little  trumpet-shaped  purple  flower  {Incarvillea 
younghushandii)  is  fairly  common,  it  lies  prone  on  the  sand 
with  its  leaves  usually  buried  out  of  sight ;  and  as  we  went 
Westward  we  found  a  dwarf  blue  iris  (7.  tenuifolia).  Animals 
are  few  and  far  between  :  the  I^ang,  the  wild  ass  of  Tibet, 
is  occasionally  seen  in  small  parties ;  they  are  very 
conspicuous  on  the  open  plains  in  full  daylight,  but  almost 
invisible  at  dusk.  The  Tibetan  gazeUe  is  fairly  numerous, 
and  it  is  not  uncommon  to  see  one  or  two  in  company  with 
a  flock  of  native  sheep  and  taking  no  notice  of  the  shepherd, 
but  when  a  stranger  tries  to  approach  they  are  off  Uke  a 
flash.  Another  animal  of  the  plains  is  the  Tibetan  antelope 
(Pantholops),  which  is  found  in  large  numbers  a  little  to  the 
North  of  the  region  we  visited,  but  the  only  signs  of  it  we 
saw  were  the  horns  used  as  supporting  prongs  for  the  long 


NATURAL  HISTORY  NOTES  293 

muzzle-loading  guns  of  the  Tibetans.  The  Tibetan  antelope 
was  probably  the  Unicorn  described  by  the  French  priest 
Hue  in  1845. 

The  only  mammals  that  are  commonly  seen  on  the  plains 
are  the  small  mouse-hares  or  pikas  (Ochotona),  which  live 
in  colonies  on  the  less  stony  parts  of  the  plain,  where  their 
burrows  often  caused  our  ponies  to  stumble  ;  they  scurry 
off  to  their  holes  at  your  approach,  but  if  you  wait  a  few 
moments  you  will  see  heads  peeping  out  at  you  from  all 
sides.  These  engaging  little  creatures  have  been  called 
"  Whistling  Hares,"  but  of  the  three  species  which  we  found 
none  was  ever  heard  to  utter  a  sound  of  any  kind.  The 
Tibetan  name  for  them  is  Phiise.  It  is  interesting  to  record 
that  from  one  specimen  I  took  three  fleas  of  two  species, 
both  of  them  new  to  science. 

Birds  are  few  on  these  stony  wastes,  larks,  wheatears 
and  snow-finches  being  the  commonest.  Elwes'  shore-lark 
was  found  feeding  young  birds  at  the  beginning  of  June, 
when  the  ground  was  not  yet  free  from  snow,  and  the  song 
of  the  Tibetan  skylark,  remarkably  like  that  of  our  own 
skylark,  was  heard  over  every  patch  of  native  cultivation. 

A  small  spiny  lizard  {Phrynocephalus  theohaldi)  is  common 
on  the  plains  and  on  the  lower  hiUs  up  to  17,000  feet ;  it 
lives  in  shallow  burrows  on  the  sand  and  under  stones. 

Rising  out  of  the  plam  North  of  the  Himalayas  are 
ranges  of  rounded  limestone  hills,  18,000  to  19,000  feet  high, 
running  roughly  East  and  West.  The  hills  between  Phari 
and  Khamba  Dzong  are  the  home  of  the  big  sheep  {Ovis 
hodgsoni),  which  are  occasionally  seen  in  small  companies. 
There  are  many  ranges  to  the  West  of  Khamba  Dzong, 
apparently  well  suited  to  this  animal,  but  it  was  never  seen. 
On  the  slopes  of  these  hills  are  found  partridges  {Perdix 
hodgsonice),  and  in  the  ravines  are  seen  Alpine  choughs, 
rock-doves  {Columha  rwpestris)  and  crag-martins.  Once  or 
twice  at  night  we  heard  the  shi'iek  of  the  great  eagle-owl, 
but  the  bird  was  not  seen. 

At  rare  intervals  on  these  plains  one  meets  with  small 


294  MOUNT  EVEREST 

rivers,  tributaries  of  the  Arun  River  ;  along  their  banks  is 
usually  more  grass  than  elsewhere,  and  here  the  wandering 
Tibetan  herdsmen  bring  their  yaks  to  graze.  The  wild  yak 
is  not  found  anywhere  in  this  region.  It  might  be  supposed 
that  so  hairy  an  animal  as  the  yak  would  become  dirty 
and  unkempt.  Actually  they  are  among  the  cleanest  of 
creatures,  and  they  may  often  be  seen  scraping  holes  in  soft 
banks  where  they  roll  and  kick  and  comb  themselves  into 
silky  condition.  The  usual  colour  of  the  domesticated  yak 
is  black,  more  rarely  a  yellowish  brown.  A  common  variety 
has  a  white  face  and  white  tail.  The  calves  are  born  in 
the  spring,  late  April  or  early  May. 

Here  and  there  the  rivers  overflow  their  banks  and  form 
lakes  or  meres,  which  in  the  summer  are  the  haunt  of 
innumerable  wild-fowl :  bar-headed  geese  and  redshanks 
nest  here,  families  of  ruddy  shelducks  (the  Brahminy  duck 
of  India)  and  garganey  teal  are  seen  swimming  on  the  pools. 
Overhead  fly  sand-martins,  brown-headed  gulls,  common 
terns  and  white-tailed  eagles.  Near  one  of  these  lakes  one 
day  I  watched  at  close  distance  a  red  fox  stalking  a  pair 
of  bar-headed  geese,  a  most  interesting  sight,  and  had  the 
satisfaction  of  saving  the  birds  by  firing  a  shot  in  the  air 
with  my  small  collecting  gun  just  as  the  fox  was  about  to 
pounce  on  his  intended  victim. 

Tinki  Dzong  is  a  veritable  bird  sanctuary.  The  Dzong 
itself  is  a  rambling  fort  covering  a  dozen  or  so  of  acres,  and 
about  its  walls  nest  hundreds  of  birds — ravens,  magpies, 
red-billed  choughs,  tree-sparrows,  hoopoes,  Indian  redstarts, 
Hodgson's  pied  wagtails  and  rock-doves.  In  the  shallow 
pool  outside  the  Dzong  were  swimming  bar-headed  geese 
and  ruddy  shelducks,  with  families  of  young  birds,  all  as 
tame  as  domestic  poultry.  A  pair  of  white  storks  was  seen 
here  in  June,  but  they  did  not  appear  to  be  breeding.  In 
the  autumn  the  lakes  in  this  neighbourhood  are  the  resort  of 
large  packs  of  widgeon,  gadwall  and  pochard.  The  Jongpen 
explained  to  us  that  it  was  the  particular  wish  of  the  Dalai 
Lama  that  no  birds  should  be  molested  here,  and  for  several 


JUNII'KKS    IN    THK    KaMA    X'AI.I.KV. 


NATURAL   HISTORY  NOTES  295 

years  two  lamas  lived  at  Tinki,  whose  special  business  it 
was  to  protect  the  birds. 

Crossing  over  a  pass  of  about  17,000  feet  (Tinki  La), 
the  slopes  gay  with  a  little  purple  and  white  daphne  {Stellera), 
said  by  the  natives  to  be  poisonous  to  animals,  we  came  to 
a  plain  of  a  different  character,  miles  of  blown  sand  heaped 
here  and  there  into  enormous  dunes,  on  which  grows  a  yellow- 
flowering  gorse.  Here,  near  Chushar,  we  first  met  with 
rose-finches  (Severtzoff's  and  Przjewalsk's)  and  the  brown 
ground-chough  {Podoces  humilis) :  the  last-named  is  a 
remarkable-looking  bird,  which  progresses  by  a  series  of 
apparently  top-heavy  bounds,  at  the  end  of  which  it  turns 
round  to  steady  itself  ;  in  the  middle  of  June  it  was  feeding 
its  young  in  nests  at  the  bottom  of  deep  holes  in  sand  or  old 
mud  walls. 

Following  up  the  valley  of  the  Bhong-chu  we  crossed 
the  river  by  a  stone  bridge  near  Shekar  Dzong.  Here  we 
found  a  colony  of  white-rumped  swifts  nesting  high  up  in 
cliffs  and  ruddy  shelducks  nesting  in  holes  among  the  loose 
boulders  below.  Occasionally  we  saw  a  pair  of  black-necked 
cranes,  which  are  said  by  the  natives  to  breed  near  lakes 
a  little  to  the  North,  but  we  had  no  opportunity  of  visiting 
them.  The  slopes  of  the  hills  facing  South  were  covered 
with  a  very  pretty  shrub  {Soj^Jiora)  with  blue  and  white 
flowers  and  delicate  silvery  grey  leaves,  and  among  the  loose 
stones  a  small  clematis  {C.  orientalis)  was  just  beginning  to 
appear.  Groups  of  small  trees,  like  a  sea  buckthorn,  growing 
15  to  20  feet  high,  indicate  a  gradual  change  in  the  climate 
as  you  go  Westwards.  Here  also  for  the  first  time  we  began 
to  find  a  few  butterflies,  of  the  genera  Lyccena  and  Colias. 

At  Tingri  we  found  ourselves  in  a  large  plain  about  20  miles 
long  by  12  wdde  ;  a  large  part  of  the  plam  is  saturated  -wdth 
soda  and  is  almost  uninhabited  by  bird  or  beast.  In  our  tliree 
weeks'  stay  at  Tingri  we  collected  several  mammals,  including 
a  new  subspecies  of  hamster  {Cricetulus  alticola  tibetanus) 
and  a  number  of  birds.  This  was  the  only  place  where  we 
ever  received  any  natural  history  specimen  from  a  Tibetan. 


296  MOUNT  EVEREST 

A  woman  came  into  our  camp  one  day  and,  after  making 
certain  that  she  was  not  observed  by  any  of  the  villagers, 
produced  from  a  sack  a  well-worn  domestic  cat's  skin  stuffed 
with  grass  and  a  freshly  kiUed  stoat  {Mustela  longstaffi). 
The  skin  of  the  stoat  is  highly  prized  by  the  Tibetans,  who 
say  that  it  has  the  property  of  restoring  faded  turquoises 
to  their  former  beauty.  About  the  houses  of  the  village 
were  nesting  tree-sparrows,  hoopoes,  rock-doves  and  ravens, 
the  latter  so  tame  that  they  hardly  troubled  to  get  out  of 
the  way  of  passers-by.  In  a  tower  of  the  old  fort  lived  a 
pair  of  the  Eastern  little  owl  {Athene  bactriana),  which  appeared 
to  live  principally  on  voles.  On  the  plain  the  commonest 
birds  were  the  long-billed  calandra  lark,  Brook's  short-toed 
lark,  the  Tibetan  skylark,  and  Elwes'  shore-lark,  aU  of  which 
were  found  with  eggs,  probably  the  second  brood  of  the 
season,  at  the  beginning  of  July.  The  nest  of  the  yellow- 
headed  wagtail,  rare  at  Tingri,  was  found  with  eggs,  and 
Blanford's  snow-finch  was  found  feeding  its  young  more 
than  2  feet  down  the  burrow  of  a  pika  {Ochotona  curzonice). 
The  common  tern  and  the  greater  sand-plover  nested  on  the 
shingly  islands  in  the  river. 

Plants  at  Tingri  were  few  and  inconspicuous :  a  small 
yellow  cistus,  the  dwarf  blue  iris,  a  small  aster  and  a  curious 
hairy,  claret-coloured  flower  {Thermopsis)  were  the  most  notice- 
able. Along  the  rivers  which  traverse  the  plain  is  very  good 
grazing  for  the  large  flocks  of  sheep  and  goats  of  the 
Tibetans  ;  the  sheep  are  smaU  and  are  grown  entirely  for  wool. 
By  a  simple  system  of  irrigation  a  large  area  of  land  near 
Tingri  has  been  brought  into  cultivation.  Tlie  principal 
crop  here  is  barley,  which  constitutes  the  chief  food  of  the 
people  ;  they  also  grow  a  large  radish  or  smaU  turnip,  the 
young  leaves  of  which  are  excellent  food.  The  animals 
usually  used  for  ploughing  are  a  cross  between  the  yak  and 
ordinary  domestic  cattle,  caUed  by  the  Tibetans  "  zoh  "  ; 
they  are  more  powerful  than  the  yak  and  are  excellent 
transport  animals.  We  found  barley  grown  in  many  districts 
up  to   15,000  feet— it  does  not  always  ripen — and  in   the 


NATURAL  HISTORY  NOTES  297 

valley  of  the  Dzakar  Chu  near  its  junction  with  the  Arun 
River  is  a  small  area  where  wheat  is  grown  at  an  altitude  of 
about  12,800  feet.  Peas  are  grown  in  the  Arun  Valley  near 
Kharta,  where  they  ripen  in  September  and  are  pounded 
into  meal  for  winter  food  of  cattle  as  well  as  of  the  Tibetans 
themselves.  Mustard  is  grown  in  the  lower  valleys  below 
14,000  feet.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  we  did  not  bring 
back  specimens  of  these  hardy  cereals. 

During  the  course  of  an  excursion  of  about  three  weeks 
in  July  to  the  West  and  South  of  Tingri  we  covered  a  large 
tract  of  unexplored  country,  much  of  which  is  more  Nepalese 
than  Tibetan  in  character.  Going  over  the  Thung  La  we 
found  numerous  butterflies  of  the  genus  Parnassus^  and 
near  the  top  of  the  pass  (18,000  feet)  we  found  for  the  first 
time  the  beautiful  little  blue  Gentiana  amosna  ;  it  is  not 
easy  to  see  until  you  are  right  over  it,  when  it  looks  hke  a 
little  square  blue  china  cup  ;  some  of  the  flowers  are  as 
much  as  an  inch  in  diameter.  Here  also  was  just  beginning 
to  flower  the  dwarf  blue  poppy  {Meconopsis  horridula), 
which  grows  in  a  smaU  compact  clump,  6  to  8  inches  high, 
with  as  many  as  sixteen  flowers  and  buds  on  one  plant ; 
the  flowers  are  nearly  2  inches  across  and  of  a  heavenly  blue. 
In  this  region,  too,  we  met  for  the  first  time  marmots,  which 
live  in  large  colonies  at  about  16,000  feet ;  the  Himalayan 
is  larger  than  the  Alpine  marmot,  and  it  has  a  longish  tail 
which  it  whisks  sharply  from  side  to  side  when  it  is  alarmed  ; 
it  has  a  twittering  cry,  curiously  like  that  of  a  bnd  of  prey. 

Continuing  down  the  valley  of  the  Po  Chu  to  Nyenyam, 
we  found  several  birds  that  we  had  not  met  hitherto,  notably 
the  brown  accentor,  Himalayan  tree-pipit,  Adams's  snow- 
finch,  the  Himalayan  greenfinch  and  TickeU's  willow- warbler. 
At  about  12,500  feet  we  first  found  the  white-backed  dove 
{Columha  leuconota),  which  inhabits  the  deep  gorges  of  the 
Himalayas  but  does  not  extend  out  on  to  the  Tibetan  plain. 
Beside  the  big  torrent  that  flows  South  from  Gosainthan 
we  saw  a  pair  of  that  curious  curlew-like  bii'd,  the  ibis-biU 
(Ibidorhynchus    struthersi) ;    it  was    evident  that  they  had 


298  MOUNT  EVEREST 

eggs  or  young  on  an  island  in  the  torrent,  at  about  13,800 
feet,  but  unfortunately  it  was  impossible  to  reach  it. 

The  most  conspicuous  flowers  in  this  region  were  a  little 
bushy  cistus  with  golden  flowers  the  size  of  a  half-crown, 
a  dwarf  rhododendron  {R.  lanatum)  with  hairy  leaves,  a 
white  potentilla  with  red  centre,  which  carpeted  the  drier 
hillsides,  a  white  gentian  {G.  robnsta),  and  a  very  remarkable 
louse-wort  {Pedicularis  megalantha)  with  two  quite  distinct 
forms — one  purple,  the  other  yellow. 

Crossing  a  pass  to  the  East  of  Nyenyam,  we  camped  on 
a  level  spot  covered  densely  with  white  primulas  (P.  Buryana) 
six  to  eight  inches  high ;  an  inch  or  two  of  snow  fell  during 
the  night,  and  so  white  are  these  flowers  that  it  was  difficult 
to  see  them  against  the  snow.  Near  the  top  of  another 
pass  we  found  at  about  the  same  altitude,  15,000  feet, 
another  primula  (P.  WoUastonii)  with  three  to  six  beUs 
on  each  stem,  the  size  of  a  small  thimble,  of  a  deep 
blue  colour,  and  lined  inside  with  frosted  silver.  In  the 
moister  valleys  hereabouts  a  pretty  pink-flowered  polygonum 
(P.  vacciniifolium)  rambled  everywhere  over  the  rocks  and 
boulders.  The  Rongshar  VaUey  in  July  was  chiefly  notable 
for  the  large  gooseberry  bushes,  10  to  12  feet  high,  and  for 
the  profusion  of  red  and  white  roses.  A  waU-creeper,  the 
only  one  we  saw  m  Tibet,  was  seen  creeping  about  the  temple 
at  Lapche,  a  few  miles  to  the  West  of  Rongshar. 

From  the  beginning  of  August  our  headquarters  were 
at  Kharta  in  the  Arun  Valley,  about  20  miles  East  of  Mount 
Everest,  and  from  there  we  made  excursions  South  to  the 
Kama  Valley,  and  West  up  the  Kharta  Valley  in  the  direction 
of  Everest.  Kliarta  itself  is  curiously  situated  as  regards 
climate  :  the  wide  dry  valley  of  the  Ai'un  narrows  abruptly 
and  the  river  passes  into  a  deep  gorge,  where  it  falls  rapidly 
at  a  rate  of  about  200  feet  to  the  mile  on  its  way  to  Nepal. 
The  heavy  monsoon  clouds  roll  up  the  gorge  to  its  mouth, 
where  they  are  cut  off  sharply,  so  that  within  a  mile  you 
may  pass  from  the  dry  climate  of  Tibet  to  the  moist,  steamy 
air  of  a  Nepalese  character,  with  its  luxuriant  vegetation. 


NATURAL  HISTORY  NOTES  299 

In  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  Kharta  were  several 
birds  we  had  not  met  elsewhere,  notably  Prince  Henry's 
laughing  thrush  {Trockalopierum  henrici),  which  is  very  much 
venerated  as  a  sacred  bird  by  the  Tibetans,  the  Central 
Asian  blackbird,  almost  indistinguishable  from  our  blackbird 
except  by  its  voice,  the  solitary  thrush,  Indian  brown  turtle- 
dove, and  a  meadow-bunting  (Emheriza  godlewskii),  probably 
a  migrant  from  the  North. 

Several  species  of  small  gentians  and  two  very  fragrant 
onosmas  were  flowering  in  August,  and  in  this  place  Clematis 
orientalis  attains  its  best  growth,  clambering  over  the  trees 
and  the  houses  of  the  natives  ;  the  flower  of  this  clematis 
has  a  very  wide  range  of  colour  from  an  apricot  yellow  to 
almost  black.  About  the  houses  are  often  planted  junipers 
and  poplars,  and  it  was  about  10  miles  from  Kharta  that 
we  saw  a  poplar  nearly  40  feet  in  gii'th,  which  we  were  informed 
was  five  hundi'ed  years  old. 

A  few  miles  to  the  south  of  Kharta  is  a  valley  filled  with 
a  dozen  or  so  of  small  lakes  or  tarns,  inhabited  apparently 
only  by  tadpoles  {Rana  pleskei) ;  no  fish  could  be  seen. 
Not  far  from  here  was  discovered  an  interesting  toad  of  a 
new  species  {CopJwphryne  alticola).  Growing  about  the 
lakes  were  large  beds  of  purple  and  yeUow  iris  (/.  sibirica, 
near) ;  the  steeper  banks  were  blue  with  a  very  striking 
campanula  (Cyanantlius  pedunculatus) ;  growing  out  from 
among  the  dwarf  rhododendi^ons  in  dry  places  were  tall 
spikes  of  a  claret-coloured  meconopsis,  now  going  to  seed 
— some  spikes  had  as  many  as  twenty  seed-pods ;  and 
in  the  moist  places  beside  the  lakes  and  streams  was  the 
tall  yellow  primula  (P.  elongata),  growmg  to  a  height  of  over 
30  inches. 

Ascending  from  the  lakes  to  the  Chog  La  we  saw  a  smaU 
black  rat  amongst  the  huge  boulders  of  a  moraine  ;  it  appeared 
to  be  a  very  active  little  animal,  and  though  four  or  five 
were  seen  at  different  times  in  similar  situations  we  failed 
to  secure  a  specimen.  Near  the  Chog  La  we  found  the  snow- 
partridge  (Lerwa  lerwa).  and  one  was  shot  out  of  a  flock  of 


300  MOUNT  EVEREST 

very  beautiful  blue  birds — Hodgson's  grandala.  Another 
very  handsome  bird  in  this  region  is  the  red-breasted  rose- 
finch,  which  is  found  up  to  18,000  feet.  Descending  from 
the  Chog  La  towards  the  Kama  Valley  we  found  at  16,000 
feet  the  giant  rhubarb  {Rheum  nobile),  and  at  14,000  feet 
we  picked  quantities  of  the  wild  edible  rhubarb.  A  little 
lower  down  we  came  to  large  blue  scabius,  3  to  4  feet  high, 
a  dark  blue  monkshood  and  quantities  of  the  tall  yellow 
poppy.  Rhododendrons,  birches  and  junipers  begin  at 
about  13,500  feet,  and  at  12,000  feet  the  junipers  are  the 
predominating  tree  ;  they  are  of  immense  size,  upwards  of 
20  feet  in  gkth  and  from  120  to  150  feet  in  height  and  of 
a  very  even  and  perfect  growth.  Here  we  met  with  the 
Sikkim  black  tit  {Parus  heavani),  and  a  little  lower  down 
among  the  firs  {Abies  webhiana)  we  came  upon  bullfinches 
{Pyrrhula  erythrocephala).  At  11,000  feet  I  saw  a  langur 
monkey  {Semnopithecus  entellus)^  the  only  monkey  I  saw 
in  Tibet.  Excepting  one  solitary  bat,  the  only  other  mammal 
we  saw  in  this  valley  was  another  species  of  pika  {Ochotona 
roylei  nepalensis),  which  appears  here  to  be  confined  to  a 
zone  between  the  altitudes  of  12,000  and  14,000  feet ;  it 
is  not  found  in  dry  valleys. 

Among  the  trees  in  the  lower  Kama  Valley  grow  many 
parnassias,  a  tall  green  fritillaria,  a  handsome  red  swertia 
and  a  very  sweet-scented  pink  orchis.  We  found  the  tubers 
(but  not  the  flowers)  of  an  arum,  which  the  Tibetans  collect 
and  make  of  it  a  very  unpalatable  bread.  We  went  down 
through  large  rhododendrons,  magnolias,  bamboos,  alders, 
sycamores,  all  draped  in  long  wisps  of  lichen  {Usnea),  to  the 
junction  of  the  Kama  with  the  Arun  River,  where  we  found 
ourselves  in  the  region  of  the  blue  pine.  The  lower  part 
of  the  Kama  Valley  is  unpleasantly  full  of  leeches,  and  in 
the  course  of  an  excursion  to  the  Popti  La  (14,000  feet), 
one  of  the  principal  passes  from  Tibet  to  Sikkim,  we  were 
astonished  to  find  them  very  numerous  and  active  at  an 
altitude  of  12,000  feet.  At  our  low-altitude  camps  in  this 
valley  hundreds  of  moths  were  attracted  by  the  light  of  our 


FORKST    IN    THF,    KaMA    VaLI.KV. 


NATURAL  HISTORY  NOTES  301 

camp  fire,  and  a  few  came  to  the  dim  candle  lamps  in  our 
tents.  A  collector  who  came  here  with  a  proper  equipment 
could  not  fail  to  make  a  large  collection  of  moths. 

Proceeding  up  the  Kharta  Valley  in  the  beginning  of 
September  we  found  that  most  of  the  roses  and  rhododendrons 
had  gone  to  seed,  but  some  of  the  gentians,  particularly 
Gentiana  ornata,  were  at  their  best.  Near  our  camp  at 
17,000  feet,  along  the  edges  of  streams,  a  very  handsome 
gentian  {G.  nuhigena)  with  half  a  dozen  flowers  growing  on 
a  single  stem  was  very  conspicuous,  and  growing  with  it 
was  an  aromatic  little  purple  and  yellow  aster  [A.  hetero' 
cJiceta)  ;  in  the  same  place  was  a  bright  yellow  senecio  {S. 
arnicoides)  with  shining,  glossy  leaves.  A  curious  dark  blue 
dead-nettle  {Dracocephalum  speciosum)  was  found  on  dry 
ground  at  the  same  altitude.  In  the  stony  places  grew  up 
to  19,000  feet  the  dwarf  blue  meconopsis  mentioned  above, 
and  many  saxifrages,  notably  a  very  small  white  one  {S. 
umbellulata).  On  the  steeper  rocks  from  16,000  feet  to  the 
snow-line  (roughly  20,000  feet)  were  found  edelweiss  {Leonto- 
podium)  of  three  species.  Very  noticeable  at  these  altitudes 
are  the  curious  saussureas,  large  composites  packed  with 
cotton  wool ;  if  you  open  one  of  them  on  the  coldest  day, 
even  when  it  is  covered  with  snow,  you  find  it  quite  warm 
inside,  and  often  a  bumble  bee  will  come  buzzing  out. 

Another  very  interesting  plant  at  17,000  to  18,000  feet 
is  a  dwarf  blue  hairy  delphinium  {D.  hrunnoneanum)  with 
a  strong  smell.  The  Tibetans  dry  the  flowers  of  this  plant 
and  use  them  as  a  preventive  against  lice.  This  has  its 
disadvantages,  for  when  a  Tibetan  dies  his  body  is  undertaken 
by  the  professional  butcher,  who  cuts  it  up  and  exposes  it 
on  the  hills  to  be  disposed  of  by  the  vultures  and  wolves. 
A  body  tainted  with  the  delphinium  flowers  is  unpalatable 
to  the  scavengers,  and  it  is  known  that  a  man  must  have 
been  wicked  in  life  whose  body  is  rejected  by  the  vultures 
and  wolves. 

The  smallest  rhododendrons  {B.  setosum  and  R.  lepidotum) 
disappear  before  19,000  feet,  after  wliich  vegetation  is  almost 


302  MOUNT  EVEREST 

non-existent.  A  few  grasses  and  mosses  are  still  found  to 
20,000  feet,  and  the  highest  plant  we  found  was  a  small 
arenaria  {A.  musciformis),  which  grows  in  flat  cushions  a 
few  inches  wide  up  to  20,100  feet. 

Mammals  in  the  upper  Kharta  Valley  are  not  numerous. 
A  pika  of  a  new  species  {Ochotona  wollastoni)  is  found  from 
15,000  to  20,000  feet,  and  a  new  vole  {Phaiotnys  everesti) 
was  found  at  17,000  feet.  Tlie  small  black  rat  previously 
seen  was  here  too,  and  an  unseen  mouse  entered  our  tents 
and  ate  our  food  at  20,000  feet.  Fox  and  hare  were  both 
seen  above  18,000  feet,  and  undoubted  tracks  of  them  on 
the  Kharta  Glacier  at  21,000  feet.  Wolves  were  seen  about 
19,000  feet,  and  those  tracks  seen  in  snow  at  21,500  feet, 
which  gave  rise  to  so  much  discussion,  were  almost  certainly 
those  of  a  wolf.  Burrhel  were  fairly  common  between  17,000 
and  19,000  feet,  and  we  found  their  droppings  on  stones 
at  20,000  feet. 

Birds  of  several  species  were  found  from  17,000  feet 
upwards.  The  Tibetan  snow-partridge  (Te^raogra?Z?i5  tibetanus) 
is  common  in  large  parties  up  to  the  snow-line.  Dippers 
{Cinclus  cashmiriensis)  are  found  in  the  streams  up  to 
17,000  feet,  and  at  about  the  same  altitude  lives  in  the 
big  boulders  of  moraines  a  small  and  very  dark  wren,  which 
is  almost  certainly  new,  but  only  one  immature  bird  was 
brought  home.  Snow-finches  and  the  Eastern  alpine  accentor 
appeared  to  be  resident  up  to  the  snow-line.  Several 
migrating  birds  were  seen  in  September  at  17,000  feet  and 
above,  among  them  Temminck's  stint,  painted  snipe,  pin- 
tailed  snipe,  house-martin  and  several  pipits.  More  than  once 
at  night  the  cry  of  migrating  waders  was  heard,  curlew 
being  unmistakable,  and  (I  think)  bar-tailed  godwit. 

Our  camps  at  17,000  feet  and  at  20,000  feet  were  visited 
daily  by  lammergeier,  raven,  red-billed  chough,  alpine 
chough  and  black-eared  kite,  and  I  saw  twice  a  hoopoe  fly 
over  the  Kharta  Glacier  at  about  21,000  feet ;  a  small  pale 
hawk  flew  overhead  at  the  same  time.  The  highest  bird 
seen   was   a  lammergeier   (bearded  vulture) ;    when   I  was 


NATURAL  HISTORY  NOTES  303 

taking  photographs  from  our  camp  on  the  Lhakpa  La  (22,350 
feet)  I  saw  one  of  these  birds  come  sailing  over  the  top  of 
the  North  peak  of  Everest  and  apparently  high  above  the 
peak,  probably  at  an  altitude  of  not  less  than  25,000  feet.* 

*  Detailed  accounts  of  the  collections  made  will  be  found  :  Mammals, 
Annals  and  Magazine  of  Nat.  Hist.,  Feb.  1922,  Birds,  Ibis.,  July,  1922. 
Insects,  Annals  and  Magazine  of  Nat.  Hist.,  May  and  June,  1922. 


CHAPTER  XX 

AN  APPRECIATION  OF  THE  RECONNAISSANCE 

By  Professor  NORMAN  COLLIE,  F.R.S. 
President  of  the  Alpine  Club 

The  chance  of  wandering  into  the  wild  places  of  the 
earth  is  given  to  few.  But  those  who  have  once  visited 
the  Himalaya  wiU  never  forget  either  the  magnificence  or 
the  beauty  of  that  immense  mountain  land,  whether  it 
be  the  valley  country  that  Hes  between  the  great  snow- 
covered  ranges  and  the  plains,  where  wonderful  forests, 
flowers,  clear  streams  and  lesser  peaks  form  a  fitting  guard 
to  the  mighty  snow-peaks  that  lie  beyond,  or  the  great  peaks 
themselves,  that  can  be  seen  far  away  to  the  North,  as  one 
approaches  through  the  foot-hills  that  lead  up  to  them. 
The  huge  snow-covered  giants  may  be  a  week's  journey 
away,  they  may  be  far  more,  yet  when  seen  through  the 
clear  air  of  the  hiUs,  perhaps  100  miles  distant,  they  look 
immense,  inaccessible,  remote  and  lonely.  But  as  one 
approaches  nearer  and  nearer  to  them,  they  ever  grow  more 
splendid,  glistening  white  in  the  mid- day  sun,  rose-red  at 
dawn,  or  a  golden  orange  at  sunset,  with  faint  opalescent 
green  shadows  that  deepen  as  the  daylight  fails,  tiU  when 
night  comes  they  stand  far  up  in  the  sky,  pale  and  ghostly 
against  the  glittering  stars.  Those  who  have  been  fortunate 
enough  to  see  these  things,  know  the  fascination  they 
exert.  It  is  the  call  of  the  great  spaces  and  of  the 
great  mountains.  It  is  a  caU  that  mocks  at  the  song  of 
the  Lotus-eaters  of  old,  it  is  more  insidious  than  the  Siren's 
caU,  and  it  is  a  caU  that,  once  heard,  is  never  forgotten. 

One  may  be  contented  and  busy  with  the  multitudinous 

304 


APPRECIATION    OF   THE    RECONNAISSANCE    305 

little  events  of  ordinary  civilised  life,  but  a  chance  phrase 
or  some  allusion  wakes  the  memory  of  the  wild  mountain 
lands,  and  one  feels  sick  with  desire  for  the  open  spaces 
and  the  old  trails.  The  dreams  of  the  wanderer  are  far 
more  real  than  most  of  the  happenings  that  make  up  the 
average  man's  life.  It  may  be  the  memory  of  some  desolate 
peaks  set  against  an  angry  sky,  or  of  islands  set  in  summer 
seas,  or  some  grim  fight  with  deserts  of  endless  sands,  or 
with  tropical  forests  that  have  held  their  growth  for  a  thousand 
years;  it  may  be  the  memory  of  rushing  rivers,  or  lakes 
set  in  wild  woods  where  the  beavers  build  their  houses,  or 
sunsets  over  great  oceans — the  speU  binds  one,  the  present 
does  not  exist,  one  is  back  again  on  the  old  trail — "  The  Red 
Gods  have  caUed  us  out,  and  we  must  go." 

There  is  no  part  of  the  world  where  lofty  mountains 
exist  at  aU  comparable  with  the  Himalaya.  Elsewhere 
the  highest  is  Aconcagua,  23,060  feet.  But  in  the  Himalaya 
there  are  over  eighty  peaks  that  tower  above  24,000  feet, 
probably  twenty  above  26,000  feet,  six  above  27,000  feet, 
and  the  highest  of  all.  Mount  Everest,  is  29,141  feet. 

The  huge  range  of  mountains,  of  which  the  Himalaya 
forms  the  chief  part,  is  by  far  the  greatest  mountain  range 
in  the  world.  Starting  to  the  North  of  Afghanistan,  it 
sweeps  Eastwards,  without  a  break,  to  the  confines  of  China, 
over  2,000  miles  away.  Yet  in  this  vast  world  of  mountains, 
very  few  have  been  climbed.  For  many  years  to  come  the 
Himalaya  will  provide  sport  for  the  mountaineer  when  most 
of  the  other  mountain  ranges  of  the  world  will  have  been 
exhausted,  as  far  as  exploration  and  new  ascents  are 
concerned. 

Mountaineering  is  a  sport  of  which  Englishmen  should 
be  proud ;  for  they  were  the  first  really  to  pursue  it  as  a 
pastime.  The  Alpine  Club  was  the  first  mountaineering 
club,  and  if  one  inquires  into  the  records  of  climbing  and 
discovery  amongst  the  mountains  of  the  world,  one  usually 
finds  that  it  was  an  Englishman  who  led  the  way.  It  is 
the  Englishman's  love  of  sport  for  its  own  sake  that  has 

M.E.  X 


306  MOUNT   EVEREST 

enticed  him  on  to  battle  with  the  dangers  and  difficulties 
that  are  offered  with  such  a  lavish  hand  by  the  great 
mountains. 

As  a  sport,  mountameering  is  second  to  none.  It  is 
the  finest  mental  and  physical  tonic  that  a  man  can  take. 
Whether  it  be  the  grim  determination  of  desperate  struggles 
with  difficult  rocks,  or  with  ice,  or  whether  it  be  the  sight 
of  ra.nge  after  range  of  splendid  peaks  basking  in  the  sunshine, 
or  of  mists  half  hiding  the  black  precipices,  or  the  changing 
fairy  colours  of  a  sunrise,  or  the  subtle  curves  of  the  wind- 
blown snow,  all  these  are  good  for  one.  They  produce  a 
sane  mind  in  a  sane  body.  The  joy  of  living  becomes  a 
real  and  a  great  joy,  all  is  right  with  the  world,  and  life 
flies  on  golden  wings.  It  is,  of  course,  true  that  there  are 
many  other  beautiful  and  health-giving  places  besides  the 
mountains.  The  great  expanses  of  the  prairie  lands,  the 
forests,  the  seas  set  with  lonely  islands,  and  in  England  the 
downs  and  the  homely  lanes  and  villages  nestling  amongst 
woods,  with  clear  streams  wandering  through  the  pastures 
where  the  cattle  feed — all  these  are  good  ;  but  the  mountains 
give  something  more.  There  things  are  larger,  man  is  more 
alone,  one  feels  that  one  is  much  nearer  to  Nature,  one  is 
not  held  down  by  an  artificial  civihsation.  And  although 
the  life  may  be  more  strenuous  (for  Nature  can  be  savage 
at  times,  as  weU  as  beautiful),  and  the  struggle  may  be  hard, 
yet  the  battle  is  the  more  worth  winning. 

Nowhere  in  any  mountain  land  does  Nature  offer  the 
good  things  of  the  wilds  with  more  prodigal  hand  than  in 
the  Himalaya.  On  the  Southern  slopes,  coming  down  from 
the  great  snow-peaks,  are  the  finest  river  gorges  in  the  world, 
wonderful  forests  of  mighty  trees,  open  alps  nestling  high  up 
at  the  head  of  the  vaUeys,  that  look  out  over  great  expanses 
of  the  lesser  ranges ;  and  as  one  ascends  higher  and  higher, 
the  views  of  the  great  peaks  draped  in  everlasting  snow, 
changing  perpetually  as  the  clouds  and  mists  form  and 
re-form  over  them,  astonish  one  by  their  magnificence. 

AU  things  that  the  Himalaya  gives  are  big  things,  and 


APPRECIATION   OF  THE   RECONNAISSANCE      307 

now  that  the  mountaineer  has  conquered  the  lesser  ranges, 
he  turns  to  the  Himalaya,  where  the  peaks  stand  head  and 
shoulders  above  all  others.  Up  to  the  present,  however, 
owing  to  the  difficulties  of  distance  and  size,  none  of  the 
greater  peaks  have  been  cUmbed. 

In  climbing  the  great  peaks  of  the  Himalaya,  the 
difficulties  are  far  greater  than  those  of  less  lofty  ranges. 
On  most  of  the  highest  the  mere  cUmbing  presents  such 
difficulties  that  it  would  be  foolish  to  attempt  their  ascent. 
Thousands  of  feet  of  steep  rock  or  ice  guard  their  summits. 
Unless  climbing  above  24,000  feet  is  moderately  easy,  and 
no  strenuous  work  is  required,  it  could  not  be  accomplished. 
For  in  the  rarefied  air  at  high  altitudes  there  is  insufficient 
oxygen  to  promote  the  normal  oxidation  of  bodily  tissue. 
Above  20,000  feet  a  cubic  foot  of  air  contains  less  than  half 
the  amount  of  oxygen  that  it  does  at  sea-level.  As  the 
whole  metaboUsm  of  the  body  is  kept  in  working  order  by 
the  oxygen  supplied  through  the  lungs,  the  obvious  result 
of  high  altitudes  is  to  interfere  with  the  various  processes 
occurring  in  the  system.  The  combustion  of  bodily  material 
is  less,  the  amount  of  energy  produced  is  therefore  less  also, 
and  so  capacity  for  work  is  diminished  progressively  as  one 
ascends. 

But  that  one  is  able  still  to  work,  and  work  hard,  at 
these  altitudes  is  evident  by  the  experiences  of  Dr.  Longstaff 
and  Mr.  Meade.  On  Trisul,  23,360  feet.  Dr.  Longstaff  in 
ten  and  a  half  hours  ascended  from  17,450  feet  to  the  summit. 
Whilst  on  Kamet,  IVIr.  Meade's  cooUes  carried  a  camp  up 
to  23,600  feet.  Dr.  Kellas  also  in  1920  found  his  ascent 
on  moderately  easy  snow  above  21,000  feet  approximated 
to  600  feet  per  hour.  AU  these  cHmbers  were,  however, 
acclimatised  to  high  altitudes.  The  effect  on  anyone  making 
a  balloon  or  aeroplane  ascent  from  sea-level  would  be  different. 
Tissaudier  in  a  baUoon  ascent  fainted  at  26,500  feet  and 
on  regaming  consciousness  found  both  his  companions  dead. 
Even  on  Pike's  Peak,  14,109  feet,  in  the  United  States, 
jnany  of  those  who  go  up  in  the  railway  suffer  from  faintness, 


308  MOUNT  EVEREST 

sickness,  breathlessness  and  general  lassitude.  Yet  there 
are  places  on  the  earth, — the  Pamirs, — where  people  live 
their  Hves  at  higher  altitudes  than  Pike's  Peak,  without 
any  effects  of  the  diminished  pressure  being  felt.  They 
are  accHmatised  ;  their  bodies,  being  accustomed  to  their 
surroundings,  are  good  working  machines. 

Although  it  is  true  that  at  high  altitudes  there  is  less 
oxygen  to  breathe,  the  body  rapidly  protects  itself  by  increas- 
ing the  number  of  red  blood  corpuscles.  These  red  corpuscles 
are  the  carriers  of  oxygen  from  the  air  to  the  various  parts 
of  the  body.  An  increased  number  of  carriers  means  an 
increase  of  oxygen  to  the  body.  It  is  just  possible,  therefore, 
that  anyone  properly  acclimatised  to,  say,  23,000  feet  would 
be  able  to  ascend  the  remaining  6,000  feet,  to  the  summit 
of  Mount  Everest.  Moreover,  if  oxygen  could  be  continuously 
supplied  to  the  climbers  by  adventitious  aid  there  is  little 
doubt  that  29,000  feet  could  be  reached. 

The  physiological  difficulties  met  with  in  ascending  to 
high  altitudes  are  doubtless  of  a  very  high  order,  but  can 
to  a  certain  extent  be  eliminated  by  ascending  gradually, 
day  after  day,  so  as  to  allow  the  body  to  accommodate 
itself  by  degrees  to  the  new  surroundings. 

There  are,  however,  other  difficulties  that  must  be  reckoned 
with,  such  as  intense  cold  and  frequent  high  winds.  In 
any  engine  where  loss  of  heat  occurs,  there  is  a  corresponding 
loss  of  available  energy.  A  bitterly  cold  wind  not  only 
robs  one  of  much  heat,  but  lowers  the  vitaUty  as  well.  At 
altitudes  above  24,000  feet,  the  temperature  is  often  arctic, 
and  the  thermometer  may  faU  far  below  zero.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  rays  of  the  sun  are  intense.  The  ultra-violet 
rays,  that  are  mostly  cut  off  by  the  air  at  sea-level,  are  a 
real  source  of  danger  where  there  is  only  one-third  of  an 
atmosphere  pressure,  as  in  the  case  at  the  summit  of  Mount 
Everest. 

The  mountaineer  also  encounters  dangers  in  the  Himalaya, 
on  the  same  scale  as  the  difficulties.  A  snow-slide  on  a 
British  mountain  or  in  the  Alps  is  an  avalanche  ;    often  in 


APPRECIATION   OF  THE   RECONNAISSANCE      309 

the  Himalaya  it  becomes  almost  a  convulsion  of  nature. 
The  huge  ice-fields  and  glaciers  that  hang  on  the  upper  slopes 
of  the  mountains,  when  let  loose,  have  not  hundreds  of  feet 
to  fall,  but  thousands,  and  the  wind  that  is  thereby  produced 
spreads  with  hurricane  force  over  the  glaciers  below,  on  to 
which  the  main  body  of  the  avalanche  has  fallen.  Sometimes 
even  the  broken  debris  will  rush  across  a  wide  glacier. 

Rock  falls  also  assume  gigantic  proportions  in  the 
Himalaya.  But  all  these  dangers  can  be  largely  avoided 
by  the  skiUed  mountaineer,  and  he  can  choose  routes  up  a 
mountain  where  they  are  not  likely  to  occur.  Some  risks, 
however,  must  be  always  run,  but  they  can  be  reduced  to  a 
minimum. 

On  Mount  Everest,  as  we  now  know,  most  of  these  dangers 
will  be  less  than  on  any  of  the  other  very  high  mountains 
in  the  Himalaya.  Also  there  are  no  difficulties  in  the  approach 
to  Mount  Everest  from  India.  In  this  respect  it  differs 
from  such  peaks  as  K^  and  others.  As  a  rule  the  highest 
mountains  in  the  Himalaya  always  lie  far  back  from  the 
plains  in  the  main  chain,  beyond  the  foot-hills  and  the 
intervening  ranges.  To  approach  them  from  the  South  in 
India,  weeks  of  travel  are  often  necessary,  up  deep  gorges, 
and  over  rivers,  where  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  take  baggage 
animals.  Fortunately  the  approach  to  Mount  Everest  by 
the  route  from  Darjeeling  to  Phari  Dzong  and  thence  over 
an  easy  pass  into  Tibet  avoids  all  these  difficulties.  In 
Tibet  a  high  tableland,  averaging  13,000  feet,  is  reached. 

Travelling  in  Tibet,  North  of  the  main  range  of  the 
Himalaya,  is  entirely  different  from  that  on  the  South  of 
the  range.  Instead  of  deep-cut  gorges,  a  roUing,  bare,  stone- 
covered  country  exists,  over  which  it  is  easy  to  take  baggage 
animals,  the  only  obstacle  being  the  rivers  that  sometimes 
are  not  bridged,  and  are  often  swollen  by  the  melting  snow. 
From  Kampa  Dzong  to  Tingri  Dzong,  the  base  of  operations 
for  the  Expedition,  is  an  open  country.  Mount  Everest  lies 
40  to  50  miles  South  of  Tingri  Dzong ;  the  approach  also  is 
without  difficulty. 


310  MOUNT  EVEREST 

The  ascent  of  Mount  Everest  was  not  the  primary  object 
of  the  Expedition  of  1921.  A  mountain  the  size  of  Mount 
Everest  cannot  be  climbed  by  simply  getting  to  it  and  starting 
the  ascent  immediately. 

A  reasonable  route  has  to  be  discovered  to  the  summit ; 
which  usually  can  only  be  done  by  a  complete  reconnaissance 
of  the  mountain.  This  has  been  admirably  done,  and  a 
most  magnificent  series  of  photographs  has  been  brought 
back  by  the  members  of  the  Expedition. 

Mount  Everest  consists  of  a  huge  pyramid,  having  three 
main  aretes,  the  West,  the  South-east,  and  the  North-east. 
It  is  the  last,  the  North-east  arete,  that  is  obviously  the 
easiest,  being  snow-covered  along  most  of  its  length.  Nowhere 
is  it  excessively  steep,  and  nowhere  are  there  precipices  of 
rock  to  stop  the  cHmber.  We  now  know  that  it  can  be 
reached,  by  means  of  a  subsidiary  ridge,  from  a  col  23,000 
feet,  the  Chang  La,  that  lies  to  the  north  of  the  North-east 
arete.  This  col  was  the  highest  point  on  Mount  Everest 
reached  by  the  Expedition,  and  had  it  not  been  for  savage 
weather  a  considerably  higher  altitude  would  have  been 
attained  ;  for  above  the  col  for  several  thousand  feet  lay  an 
unbroken  snow-slope. 

It  was  only  after  much  hard  work,  and  over  two  months' 
exploration,  that  a  route  to  this  col  was  discovered.  As 
is  usually  the  case  even  with  mountains  far  smaller  than 
Mount  Everest,  it  can  be  seen  that  if  a  point,  often  a  long 
way  below  the  summit,  can  be  reached,  not  much  farther 
difficulty  will  be  encountered.  But  the  puzzle  is,  how  can 
that  point  be  arrived  at  from  below  ? 

Quite  early  in  the  exploration  of  Mount  Everest  it  was 
obvious  that  if  the  23,000-foot  col  could  be  reached,  most 
of  the  physical  difficulties  of  the  approach  to  the  mountain 
would  have  been  surmounted.  But  it  was  not  so  obvious 
how  to  win  to  the  col.  It  lies  on  the  South-east  at  the  head 
of  the  main  Rongbuk  Glacier  ;  it  was  therefore  to  this  glacier 
that  the  mountaineers,  Messrs.  Mallory  and  Bullock,  went 
from  Tingri  Dzong  on  June  23.     They  spent  a  month  exploring 


APPRECIATION   OF   THE   RECONNAISSANCE      311 

the  country  to  the  North  and  the  West  of  Mount  Everest 
from  the  Rongbuk  Glacier.  Much  valuable  information 
was  accumulated.  A  peak,  Ri-Ring,  22,520  feet,  was 
climbed  and  a  pass  on  the  West  ridge  of  Mount  Everest  was 
visited,  from  which  were  seen  views  of  the  South-west  face 
of  the  great  mountain  and  also  many  high  peaks  in  Nepal. 
Unfortunately,  however,  no  feasible  route  from  the  main 
Rongbuk  Glacier  to  the  23,000-foot  col  could  be  found. 
The  next  attempt  was  made  by  leaving  the  Rongbuk  Glacier 
and  exploring  the  Kama  Valley  that  flows  South-east  from 
Mount  Everest,  Here  a  most  magnificent  ice-world  was 
discovered.  For  a  chain  of  giant  peaks  running  South-east 
from  Mount  Everest  to  Makalu,  27,790  feet,  guards  th| 
whole  of  the  South-west  side  of  the  valley.  But  as  an 
approach  to  the  North-east  arete  of  Mount  Everest  this 
valley  was  found  to  be  useless.  From  the  point  of  view, 
however,  of  exploration  it  was  most  fortunate  that  this 
vaUey  was  visited.  The  photographs  of  Makalu  and  its 
satellite  Chomo-Lonzo,  N.^^  25,413  feet,  are  superb ; 
moreover  the  lower  reaches  of  the  Kama  Valley,  as  it  dips 
down  to  the  deep  Arun  Valley,  was  fuU  of  luxuriant  vegetation, 
totally  different  from  the  wind-swept  wilderness  of  Tibet. 

The  Kharta  VaUey,  that  runs  North-east  from  Mount 
Everest,  was  the  next  exploited,  to  see  whether  from  it  an 
easy  approach  to  the  North-east  arete  existed.  But  by 
this  time  the  monsoon  weather  was  at  its  worst.  Days  of 
rain  and  mist,  with  snow  higher  up,  succeeded  one  another, 
making  climbing  impossible.  However,  towards  the  end  of 
September  a  high  camp  at  22,500  feet  was  made  at  the  head 
of  the  Kharta  Valley.  From  this  camp  the  23,000-foot 
col,  Chang  La,  was  finally  reached,  by  crossing  the  head 
of  a  glacier  that  ran  to  the  North.  Higher  climbmg  was 
out  of  the  question;  a  furious  North-west  gale  lasting  for 
four  days  drove  the  party  off  the  mountain. 

The  glacier  mentioned  above,  running  to  the  North,  was 
found  to  be  a  tributary  of  the  main  Rongbuk  Glacier,  and 
has  been  named  the  East  Rongbuk  Glacier.     There  is  no 


312  MOUNT   EVEREST 

doubt  that  the  easiest  route  to  Chang  La,  the  North  Col,  will 
not  be  all  the  way  round  by  the  Kharta  Valley,  but  up  this 
East  Rongbuk  Glacier. 

Several  other  interesting  expeditions  were  carried  out 
by  other  members  of  the  party.  Colonel  Howard  Bury 
visited  the  group  of  five  great  peaks  (25,202  to  26,867  feet), 
that  lie  about  15  miles  North-west  of  Mount  Everest.  He 
explored  the  Kyetrak  Glacier  to  its  summit  the  Khombu  La, 
also  crossed  the  Phiise  La  with  the  Rongshar  Valley  that 
drains  down  into  Nepal.  Later  he  visited  another  pass  on 
the  ridge  that  connects  Mount  Everest  with  Makalu.  From 
this  pass  most  interesting  views  of  the  country  South  of 
Mount  Everest  were  obtained. 

Major  Wheeler's  and  Major  Morshead's  map  of  the 
country  that  lies  between  the  Himalaya  and  the  Bramapootra 
River  will  be  of  the  highest  value,  and  the  results  of  Dr. 
Heron's  geological  survey  and  IMr.  WoUaston's  collections  of 
birds,  beasts,  insects  and  flowers,  when  they  have  been 
thoroughly  examined,  will  certainly  yield  much  new  scientific 
information.  The  Expedition  therefore  has  accomplished  ah 
that  was  expected  of  it,  and  has  brought  back  material  of 
the  greatest  interest,  from  a  part  of  the  world  about  which 
almost  nothing  was  known,  and  into  which  Europeans  had 
never  been. 

The  attempt  to  ascend  Mount  Everest  itself  necessarily 
had  to  be  postponed,  but  this  year  the  Expedition  that  is 
being  sent  out  will  have  for  its  primary  object  the  ascent  of 
the  mountain.  There  will  be  easy  access  to  the  base  of  the 
peak  from  Chobuk,  where  a  base  camp  will  be  established, 
and  from  thence  a  feasible  route  on  to  the  summit  of  the 
great  North-east  arete  has  been  discovered. 

Most  fortunately  this  year  General  Bruce  was  able  to 
undertake  the  leadership  of  the  Expedition.  His  unrivalled 
experience  of  climbing  in  the  Himalaya  and  particularly 
his  special  capacity  for  handling  Himalayan  people  wiQ  be 
invaluable  to  the  Expedition.  Not  only  wiU  he  be  able  to 
organise  and  instil  the  right  spirit  into  the  coolie  corps  upon 


APPRECIATION   OF  THE   RECONNAISSANCE      313 

whom  so  much  will  depend  for  ultimate  success,  but  he  will 
also  be  able  to  give  much  wise  advice  to  the  actual  chmbers 
who  are  to  take  part  in  the  ascent  of  the  mountain. 

Moreover,  with  his  long  experience  of  dealing  with  Asiatics 
he  can  be  trusted  to  deal  with  the  Tibetan  people  and  officials 
in  such  a  way  as  to  retain  their  present  good-wiU. 

As  the  main  object  of  the  Expedition  this  year  is  to  make 
a  definite  attempt  to  reach  the  summit  of  Mount  Everest, 
it  has  been  decided  that  the  actual  climbing  party  should  be 
as  strong  as  possible.     But  a  limit  to  the  size  of  the  Expedition 
was  imposed  by  the  necessity  of  respect  for  the  feehngs  of 
the  Tibetans,  and  a  warning  had  been  received  from  Lhasa 
to  keep  the  numbers  as  small  as  possible.     For,  although 
the   authorities   at   Lhasa   might   be   friendly   enough,    and 
although  there  might  be  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  transport 
from  the  district  round  Tingri  Dzong,  where  animals  were 
plentiful,    yet    a    large    party    might    press    hardly    on    the 
inhabitants  in  the  matter  of  food,  such  as  wheat  and  barley. 
This  consideration    had    therefore   to  be  regarded.     Still  it 
was  thought  that  the  district  would  not  be  unduly  pressed 
by  a  party  of  twelve  Europeans.     This  number  wiU  include 
a  cUmbing  party  of  six  chosen  mountaineers,  with  two  m 
reserve,  making  eight  in  aU.     With  General  Bruce,  a  doctor 
(who  would  also   be   a  naturalist),   a  photographer  and  a 
painter,  the  expeditionary  force  of  Europeans  wiU  be  complete. 
Colonel  E.  L.  Strutt,  C.M.G.,  has  been  chosen  as  second 
in  command.     He  possesses  first-rate  mountaineering  experi- 
ence, and  has  been  Vice-President  of  the  Alpme  Club. 

Mr.  Mallory  fortunately  has  been  able  to  accept  the 
invitation  of  the  Committee  to  return  to  Mount  Everest 
again  this  year.  The  remainder  of  the  climbing  party  are ; 
Captain  George  Finch,  who  was  unable  to  join  the  Expedition 
last  year  on  account  of  his  health;  'Mr.  T.  H.  SomerveU,  a 
surgeon,  a  member  of  the  Alpine  Club  and  an  extremely 
energetic  cUmber;  Major  E.  F.  Norton  (Royal  Artillery);  and 
Dr.  A.  W.  Wakefield,  renowned  for  his  strenuous  climbing  in 
the  Lake  District  and  work  in  Labrador.     Besides  these  six 


314  MOUNT   EVEREST 

mountaiiieers,  Captain  Geoffrey  Bruce  and  Captain  C.  J.  Morris, 
both  of  Gurkha  Regiments,  and  able  to  speak  the  language 
of  the  Himalayan  coolies,  will  assist  General  Bruce  both  in 
looking  after  and  encouraging  the  coolies,  and  also  help  in 
the  general  arrangement  and  organisation  of  the  Expedition 
as  a  whole.  They  also  are  accustomed  to  mountaineering 
and  will  act  as  a  reserve  to  the  six  climbers. 

As  doctor  and  naturalist  Dr.  T.  G.  Longstaff  has  been 
mvited  to  join  the  Expedition.  He  has  made  many  climbs 
in  the  Himalaya  and  other  mountain  regions,  including  the 
ascent  of  Trisul,  23,360  feet.  He  is  not  expected  to  join 
the  cHmbing  party,  but  his  experience  will  be  of  great  benefit 
to  the  Expedition  generally. 

As  photographer.  Captain  J.  B.  L.  Noel  has  been  selected. 
He  had  reconnoitred  in  the  direction  of  Mount  Everest  in 
1913.  For  several  years  he  has  made  a  special  study  of 
photography  in  all  its  various  branches. 

But  besides  photographs  of  the  mountains,  the  Expedition 
is  anxious  to  bring  back  pictures  which  would  alone  be  able 
not  only  to  serve  as  a  record  of  the  infinitely  delicate 
colouring  of  that  lofty  region,  but  at  the  same  time  would 
show  how  probably  some  of  the  grandest  scenery  of  mighty 
mountains  should  be  represented  from  the  point  of  view  of 
an  artist. 

Difficulty  was  experienced  in  finding  a  suitable  painter, 
for  painters  capable  of  doing  justice  to  mountain  scenery, 
and  who  are  also  physically  fit  to  travel  amongst  them  at 
such  altitudes  as  those  round  Mount  Everest,  are  few.  We 
have,  therefore,  to  depend  on  Mr.  Somervell  to  paint  us 
pictures. 

In  the  meantime  communications  were  also  passing 
between  Colonel  Bailey,  the  Political  Agent  in  Sikkim,  and 
the  Mount  Everest  Committee  regarding  the  enlistment  of 
coolies  for  the  special  corps,  and  the  engagement  of  the  very 
best  headman  obtainable  to  look  after  them.  Many  of  the 
coolies  who  were  with  the  Expedition  in  1921  had  volunteered 
to  rejoin  this  year.      But  a  stronger  corps  and  more  carefully 


APPRECIATION   OF  THE   RECONNAISSANCE      315 

selected  men  were  needed.  The  Maharaja  of  NejDal  has 
been  asked  to  allow  some  of  the  most  famous  Gurkha 
mountain  climbers  to  join  the  Expedition,  and  the 
Government  of  India  has  been  asked  to  put  two  or  three 
non-commissioned  Gurkha  officers  at  the  service  of  General 
Bruce,  to  assist  him  generally  in  looking  after  the  coolies, 
and  seeing  that  they  were  properly  fed  and  paid,  and  that 
they  behaved  themselves  properly. 

The  members  of  last  year's  Expedition  on  their  return 
were  freely  and  fully  consulted  as  to  equipment  and 
provisioning  of  this  year's  party ;  the  experience  gained 
last  year  has  been  therefore  made  use  of  in  every  way  possible. 
Suggestions  for  the  improvement  of  the  Mummery-Meade 
tents  have  been  adopted.  Better  clothing  has  been  provided 
for  the  coohes.  General  Bruce  has  purchased  leather  coats, 
waistcoats,  socks,  jerseys  and  boots  from  the  equipment 
provided  for  our  troops  in  North  Russia  during  the  war, 
which  wiU  be  admirably  suited  for  the  majority  of  the  coolies, 
whilst  for  the  few  chosen  for  high  climbing  on  Mount  Everest 
itself,  clothing  precisely  similar  to  that  worn  by  the  British 
climbers  has  been  provided. 

Captain  Farrar  and  the  equipment  committee  have 
provided  a  most  varied  and  ample  supply  of  provisions  which 
was  despatched  to  India  in  January.  The  Primus-stoves 
have  been  overhauled  and  retested  by  Captain  Finch. 

Colonel  Jack  and  Mr.  Hinks  have  carefully  examined  all 
the  instruments  brought  back.  The  aneroids  have  been 
retested,  and  all  broken  instruments  replaced. 

The  photographic  outfit  has  been  considerably  enlarged, 
including  a  cinematograph  instrument.  The  question  of 
supplying  oxygen  has  been  most  thoroughly  gone  into.  All 
flyers  in  aeroplanes  at  high  altitudes  find  oxygen  absolutely 
necessary.  In  mountam  climbing,  however,  the  almost 
insuperable  difficulty  is  the  weight  of  the  apparatus  supplying 
the  oxygen.  As  far  as  possible,  this  weight  has  been  reduced 
to  a  minimum.  A  large  number  of  cyhnders,  the  lightest 
and  smallest  obtainable,  have  been  sent  out  full  of  compressed 


316  MOUNT  EVEREST 

oxygen,  and  it  is  hoped  that  they  will  be  capable  of  being 
used  by  the  party  that  will  attempt  to  climb  to  the  summit 
of  Mount  Everest.  If  the  climbers  are  capable  of  carrying 
them,  and  so  getting  a  continuous  supply  of  oxygen  during 
the  whole  of  the  climb,  there  is  little  doubt  that  climbing 
up  to  29,000  feet  is  possible.  In  aeroplanes  considerably 
higher  altitudes  have  been  reached  with  the  help  of  oxygen. 
Moreover,  there  is  this  fact  in  favour  of  the  climbers  on  Mount 
Everest,  they  will  be  acclimatised  to  altitudes  of  20,000  feet, 
whilst  anyone  in  an  aeroplane  is  not  so  acclimatised,  having 
risen  from  sea-level.  The  climbers  will  have  to  accommodate 
themselves  only  to  an  increased  height  of  9,000  feet,  whilst 
those  in  an  aeroplane  have  to  suffer  a  diminution  in  pressure 
equivalent  to  29,000  feet. 

Finally,  arrangements  have  been  made  with  the  Press 
for  the  publication  of  telegrams  and  photographs  from 
the  Expedition.  Full  information  of  the  progress  of  the 
Expedition  will  therefore  be  available  for  the  public,  and  it 
will  be  possible  to  follow  the  climbing  party,  after  they  leave 
the  base  camp,  which  wiU  be  somewhere  near  Chobuk,  as  they 
ascend  the  East  Rongbuk  Glacier  to  the  advanced  base  under 
the  North  col.  Afterwards  aU  the  preliminary  arrangements 
will  be  reported,  and  finally  there  wiU  be  an  account  of  the 
great  attempt  to  reach  the  summit. 

The  Expedition  wiU  be  starting  nearly  two  months  earHer 
than  in  1921.  The  weather  in  May  and  June,  before  the 
monsoon  breaks  in  July,  apparently  is  more  or  less  settled, 
and  so  the  most  must  be  made  of  it.  In  1921  from  the  end 
of  July  till  September  high  climbing  was  impossible.  It  is 
therefore  obvious  that  a  determined  attempt  to  climb  Mount 
Everest  should  be  made  before  the  monsoon  sets  in. 

The  ascent  from  the  North  col,  Changa  La,  23,000  feet, 
to  the  summit  of  Mount  Everest,  29,000  feet,  is  only  6,000 
feet,  and  the  distance  to  traverse  is  about  2  miles.  As  far 
as  can  be  judged  from  the  numerous  photographs  of  Mount 
Everest,  the  climbing  is  straightforward  with  no  insurmount- 
able difTiculties  in  the  form  of  steep  rock  precipices.     There 


APPRECIATION   OF  THE   RECONNAISSANCE      317 

wiU  be  no  glaciers  overhanging  the  route  which  might  send 
down  avalanches,  and  no  excessively  steep  ice-slopes. 

But  the  final  ascent  will  test  the  endurance  of  the  climbers 
to  the  utmost.  Many  people  have  found  the  last  1,000  feet 
of  Mont  Blanc  more  than  they  could  accomplish.  The  last 
1,000  feet  of  Mount  Everest  wiU  only  be  conquered  by  men 
whose  physique  is  perfect,  and  who  are  trained  and 
acclimatised  to  the  last  possible  limit,  and  who  have  the 
determination  to  struggle  on  when  every  fibre  of  their  body 
is  calling  out — Hold  !  enough  ! 

The  struggle  will  be  a  great  one,  but  it  will  be  worth  the 
while.  To  do  some  new  thing  beyond  anything  that  has 
been  previously  accomplished,  and  not  to  be  dominated  by 
his  environment,  has  made  man  what  he  is,  and  has  raised 
him  above  the  beasts.  He  always  has  been  seeking  new 
worlds  to  conquer.  He  has  penetrated  into  the  forbidding 
ice-worlds  at  the  two  poles,  and  many  are  the  secrets  he  has 
wrested  from  Nature.  There  remains  yet  the  highest  spot 
on  the  world's  surface.  No  doubt  he  will  win  there  also, 
and  in  the  winning  will  add  one  more  victory  over  the  guarded 
secrets  of  things  as  they  are. 


APPENDIX  I 

THE  SURVEY 
By  Major   H.   T.  MORSHEAD,   D.S.O. 

The  personnel  selected  to  form  the  Survey  Detachment  under  my 
charge  were  as  follows  :  Brevet-Major  E.  0.  Wheeler,  M.C,  R.E., 
Mr.  Lalbir  Singh  Thapa,  Surveyors  Gujjar  Singh  and  Turubaz  Khan, 
Photographer  Abdul  Jalil  Khan,  sixteen  khalasis,  etc. 

The  tasks  allotted  to  the  detachment  were  : — 

(1)  A  general  survey  of  the  whole  unmapped  area  covered  by  the 
Expedition,  on  a  scale  of  1  inch  to  4  miles. 

(2)  A  detailed  survey  of  the  immediate  environs  of  Mount  Everest 
on  the  scale  of  1  inch  to  1  mile. 

(3)  A  complete  revision  of  the  existing  J-inch  map  of  Sikkim. 
With  the  exception  of  a  few  rough  notes  and  sketches  by  early 

travellers  and  missionaries  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries, 
oiu*  first  knowledge  of  the  Southern  portion  of  the  Tibetan  province 
of  Tsang  dated  from  the  epoch  of  the  Survey  of  India  by  trained  native 
explorers  in  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Thus,  much  of 
the  area  visited  by  the  Expedition  in  1921  was  traversed  by  the 
explorer  Hari  Ram  during  the  course  of  his  two  journeys  in  1871-2 
and  1885  respectively.  At  that  time,  however,  foreign  surveyors 
were  not  regarded  with  favour  in  Tibet ;  work  could  only  be  carried 
on  surreptitiously,  and  the  resulting  map  merely  consisted  of  a  small- 
scale  route  traverse  which  gave  no  indication  of  the  surface  features 
beyond  the  explorer's  actual  route. 

The  first  rigorous  survey  undertaken  in  the  neighbourhood  was 
that  carried  out  by  Captain  C.  H.  D.  Ryder,  R.E.  (now  Colonel  Ryder, 
C.I.E.,  D.S.O.,  Surveyor-General  of  India),  diu-ing  the  Tibet  Mission 
of  1903-1904,  During  the  stay  of  the  IMission  at  Kampa,  the  |-inch 
survey  was  carried  as  far  West  as  longitude  88°  ;  wliile,  on  the 
subsequent  return  march  up  the  Tsangpo  Valley,  surveys  were 
extended  as  far  as  the  Southern  watershed  of  the  great  river — the 
so-called  Ladak  Range — in  latitude  29°  approximately, 

319 


320  MOUNT  EVEREST 

West  of  longitude  88°  there  thus  remained  a  stretch  of  unsurveyed 
country  some  14,000  square  miles  in  area,  between  the  Ladak  Range 
on  the  North  and  the  Great  Himalaya  Range  on  the  South — the 
latter  forming  the  Northern  frontier  of  Nepal.  The  Mount  Everest 
Expedition  provided  an  opportunity  of  making  good  the  whole  of  this 
area,  with  the  exception  of  some  2,000  square  miles  at  the  extreme 
Western  end,  into  which,  in  view  of  the  restrictions  of  the  Indian 
Foreign  Department,  I  did  not  feel  justified  in  penetrating. 

Fortunately,  Colonel  Bury's  plans  contemplated  an  outward 
Northerly  journey  via  Shekar  and  Tingri  to  the  Western  flanks  of 
Mount  Everest,  whence  the  reconnaissance  of  the  mountain  was  to 
be  carried  out  from  West  to  East,  parallel  to  the  Northern  frontier 
of  Nepal.  This  rendered  feasible  the  mapping  of  the  whole  unsurveyed 
area  between  the  Southern  watershed  of  the  Tsangpo  and  the  Great 
Himalaya  Range,  as  far  West  as  longitude  85°  30',  without  in  any 
way  infringing  the  Foreign  Department's  orders  and  restrictions. 

For  the  purpose  of  the  detailed  survey  of  the  Mount  Everest  regions, 
it  was  arranged  for  my  Assistant,  Major  Wheeler,  to  make  a  thorough 
test  of  the  Canadian  pattern  of  photo-survey  apparatus,  of  which  he 
had  had  previous  experience  in  the  Canadian  Rocky  Mountains.  This 
method  of  survey,  which  had  not  hitherto  been  employed  in  India, 
is  particularly  adapted  for  use  in  high  mountain  regions.  Fortunately, 
the  experimental  outfit,  which  had  recently  been  ordered  from  England, 
was  delivered  just  in  time  to  accompany  the  Expedition.  Wheeler's 
account  of  his  season's  work  wiU  be  found  in  Appendix  11. 

With  a  view  to  carrying  out  the  revision  survey  of  Sikkim  while 
awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  members  of  the  Expedition  from  England, 
the  Survey  Detachment  was  authorised  to  assemble  at  Darjeeling 
early  in  April,  six  weeks  before  the  date  fixed  for  the  start  of  the 
Expedition.  In  spite  of  an  unusually  wet  and  cloudy  spring,  the  three 
surveyors  made  such  good  use  of  their  time  that  2,500  square  miles 
of  country  were  completed  before  the  advance  of  the  Expedition 
necessitated  the  temporary  abandonment  of  this  work. 

After  completing  the  necessary  preliminaries  with  Colonel  Bury, 
I  myself  left  Darjeeling  on  May  13,  intending  to  rejoin  the  remainder 
of  the  Expedition  in  Sikkim.  Continuous  rain,  however,  rendered 
the  latter  task  impossible  ;  the  Sikkim  roads  were,  moreover,  blocked 
in  several  places  by  severe  landslips,  so  that  I  was  only  with  difiiculty 
able  to  reach  Kampa  by  the  28th.  It  transpired,  however,  that  there 
was  no  cause  for  hurry,  since  the  main  body  of  the  Expedition, 
travelling  via  the  Chumbi  Valley,  had  encountered  greater  difficulties 


THE   SURVEY  321 

than  mine,  and  did  not  arrive  at  Kampa  until  June  5,  While  awaiting 
their  arrival,  I  filled  in  the  time  by  occupying  and  re-observing  from 
Colonel  Ryder's  old  triangulation  stations  of  1903,  overlooking  the 
Kampa  Plain. 

I  had  received  no  news  whatever  of  the  Expedition  or  of  the  outside 
world  since  leaving  Darjeeling  three-and-a-half  weeks  previously. 
Consequently  the  death  of  my  old  friend  Dr.  Kellas  on  the  very 
day  of  their  arrival  at  Kampa  came  to  me  as  a  very  severe 
shock. 

The  Sikkim  revision-survey  having  been  so  much  hampered  by 
bad  weather,  I  decided  to  take  only  two  of  the  three  surveyors  with 
the  Expedition  into  Tibet,  leaving  Surveyor  Turabaz  Khan  to  complete 
the  comparatively  dry  areas  of  Northern  Sikkim  before  the  arrival 
of  the  monsoon.  This  he  succeeded  in  doing  at  the  cost  of  considerable 
personal  discomfort,  returning  to  Darjeeling  in  July. 

It  was  not  until  we  reached  the  summit  of  the  Tinki  Pass  on 
June  11  that  we  found  ourselves  for  the  first  time  looking  into 
unsurveyed  country.  From  here  onwards  as  far  as  Tingri  the  survey 
was  kept  up  by  Lalbir  Singh,  whose  unflagging  energy  alone  enabled 
him  to  keep  pace  with  the  long  marches  of  the  Expedition.  Each 
morning  he  was  away  with  his  plane-table  and  squad  of  coolies  long 
before  our  breakfast  was  served,  seldom  reaching  camp  before  nightfall. 
The  gathering  clouds  and  other  ominous  signs  of  a  rapidly  approaching 
monsoon,  however,  forbade  any  respite. 

On  arrival  at  Tingri,  after  spending  a  week  in  fruitless  efforts  to 
observe  the  triangulated  peaks  of  the  main  Himalayan  Range  through 
the  dense  monsoon  clouds  which  were  daily  piling  up  more  and  more 
thickly  from  the  South,  I  departed  on  June  26  with  Surveyor  Gujjar 
Singh  on  a  short  trip  to  explore  and  map  the  upper  valley  of  the 
Bhong  Chu. 

Oiu"  first  march  led  across  the  wide  Tingri  Plain,  past  the  hot 
spring  village  of  Tsamda,  to  the  hamlet  of  Dokcho,  at  the  Southern 
extremity  of  the  Sutso  Plain.  This  plain  is  covered  with  the  ruins 
of  numerous  villages  and  watch-towers,  the  haunt  of  countless  rock- 
pigeons.  They  are  all  of  loftier  and  more  substantial  construction 
than  the  miserable  hovels  which  form  the  scattered  hamlets  of  to-day — 
indicating,  apparently,  the  former  presence  of  a  large  and  warlike 
population.  It  is  impossible  even  to  hazard  a  guess  at  the  age  of 
these  ruins,  which  may  have  preserved  their  present  state  for  generations 
in  the  comparatively  arid  climate  of  Tibet.  Many  of  the  towers  are 
60  feet  or  more  in  height  ;   roofs  and  floors  have  aU  disappeared,  but 

M.E.  Y 


322  MOUNT  EVEREST 

the  massive  mud  walls  in  many  instances  still  bear  the  marks  of  the 
wooden  shuttering  used  in  their  erection.  This  method  of  construction 
is  unknown,  I  believe,  in  Tibet  at  the  present  day. 

The  next  day's  march,  skirting  the  Western  edge  of  the  plain, 
brought  us  to  the  village  of  Phuri,  where  the  river  flows  in  a  flat- 
bottomed,  cultivated  valley,  between  bare  brown  hills.  On  the  28th 
we  camped  at  Menkhap-to,  the  highest  village  in  the  valley.  The 
headman,  a  sort  of  local  "  warden  of  the  marches,"  refused  to  see 
me  and  shut  himself  up  in  his  house,  guarding  his  door  with  three 
huge  mastiffs  who  effectively  frustrated  the  efforts  of  my  messengers 
to  establish  communications.  Evidently  he  feared  the  subsequent 
results  to  himself  of  harbouring  strangers.  The  remaining  villagers 
were  quite  friendly,  however,  and  supplied  all  my  requirements.  One 
man,  the  owner  of  a  gun,  surprised  me  by  a  request  for  12-bore  cartridges 
just  after  I  had  greatly  shocked  his  neighbour's  Buddhist  susceptibilities 
by  killing  a  butterfly  for  my  collection  !  Much  snow  is  reported  to 
fall  at  Menkhap-to,  which  is  deserted  during  the  winter  months,  when 
the  inhabitants  descend  to  Menkhap-me  ("  lower  Menkhap  ")  and 
the  Sutso  Plain. 

Above  Menkhap-to  the  road  leaves  the  main  valley  and  proceeds 
Westwards  over  a  spur  known  as  the  Lungchen  La  (17,700  feet). 
This  spur  commands  an  extensive  view  across  the  wide,  uninhabited 
Pekhu  Plain,  with  its  three  lakes,  as  far  as  the  snowy  range  running 
North-west  from  the  summit  of  Gosainthan.  On  a  fine  day,  the 
whole  panorama  can  be  sketched  in  from  a  couple  of  fixings  on  either 
side  of  the  pass  ;  unfortunately,  at  the  time  of  our  arrival  bad  weather 
had  set  in,  and  the  whole  snow-range  was  hidden  in  cloud.  I  had 
therefore  to  leave  Gujjar  Singh  camped  near  the  summit  of  the  pass 
to  await  a  fine  day  for  the  completion  of  his  surveys,  and  myself  returned 
at  the  end  of  the  month  to  Tingri,  where  I  rejoined  Mr.  WoUaston, 
who  had  been  detained  at  headquarters  by  an  outbreak  of  enteric 
fever  amongst  the  Expedition  servants. 

Wild  game  is  plentiful  in  the  Upper  Bhong  Valley.  I  shot  numerous 
hares,  some  ram-chakor  and  a  bar-headed  goose  dming  the  trip  ; 
while  Gujjar  Singh  caught  a  young,  week-old  barhal  lamb  on  the 
summit  of  the  Lungchen  Pass,  which,  however,  died  after  three  weeks 
in  captivity.     Gazelle  are  common  on  the  Sutso  Plain. 

By  the  end  of  June,  Lalbir  Singh  had  finished  the  inking  of  his 
previous  surveys,  and  was  ready  for  fresh  work.  Accordingly,  after 
spending  a  couple  of  days  in  examining  his  board,  and  checking  the 
spelling  of  his  village  names  with  the  aid  of  the  local  Tibetan  officials, 


THE   SURVEY  323 

I  despatched  him  on  a  lengthy  programme  of  work  in  Pharuk  and 
Kharta.     It  was  three  months  before  I  saw  him  again. 

About  this  time  a  messenger  arrived  from  the  Dzongpen  of  Nyenyam, 
inviting  us  to  visit  his  district,  which  lay  four  marches  to  the  South- 
west, in  the  valley  of  the  Po  Chu  or  Bhotia  Kosi  R.  Although  Nyenyara 
was  not  one  of  the  districts  specifically  mentioned  in  our  passport, 
Wollaston  and  I  decided,  with  the  concurrence  of  Colonel  Bury,  to 
avail  ourselves  of  the  opportunity  of  visiting  this  little-known  area. 

Leaving  Tingri  on  July  13,  with  the  interpreter  Gyaldzan  Kazi 
and  Surveyor  Gujjar  Singh,  who  had  now  returned  after  completing 
his  work  on  the  Lungchen  Pass,  we  camped  that  evening  at  Langkor, 
a  small  village  at  the  Western  edge  of  the  Tingri  Plain.  A  cantilever 
bridge  which  spans  the  Gya  Chu  opposite  the  village  had  been  carried 
away  by  floods  shortly  before  our  arrival,  and  the  whole  population 
of  the  hamlet,  male  and  female,  were  busily  engaged  in  its  recon- 
struction, working  in  relays  to  the  accompaniment  of  prolonged 
and  vigorous  blasts  on  a  "  conch  "  which  a  monk  was  diligently 
blowing  in  order — as  it  was  explained  to  us — to  avert  further  rainfall 
until  the  bridge  should  be  completed.  His  efforts  were  rewarded 
with  tolerable  success,  as  the  rain  held  off  all  day  in  spite  of  the 
threatening  storm-clouds  which  loomed  up  from  the  South-west. 

The  most  interesting  feature  of  Langkor  is  an  ancient  temple, 
an  appanage  of  the  great  Drophung  monastery  of  Lhasa.  This 
building,  which  is  said  to  be  over  1,000  years  old,  contains  a  sacred 
stone  alleged  to  have  been  hurled  across  the  Himalayan  Range  from 
India,  and  to  have  pitched  in  the  Tingri  Plains.  The  name  Tingri 
is  said  to  be  derived  from  the  noise  ("  ting  ")  made  by  the  falling 
stone.  The  stone  is  carefully  preserved  inside  a  wooden  box,  which 
is  opened  with  much  ceremony  on  the  first  day  of  the  Tibetan  new 
year.  The  temple,  which  is  managed  by  a  committee  of  fifteen  civilian 
monks  (nyakchang),  also  contains  a  library  of  4,400  books,  and  an 
image  of  the  Indian  saint  Tamba  Sanye  wliich  is  popularly  believed 
to  have  grown  by  itself  from  the  ground  in  situ. 

Crossing  the  Tang  La  (17,980  feet)  in  a  driving  snowstorm,  a  long 
march  of  22  miles  brought  us  next  day  to  the  bleak  village  of  Tulung, 
in  the  upper  valley  of  the  Po  Chu.  As  we  descended  the  Western 
side  of  the  pass  the  snow-clouds  gradually  dispersed,  disclosing  glimpses 
of  the  magnificent  twin  summits  of  Gosainthan  (26,290  feet),  30  miles 
to  the  West.  Several  of  our  coolies  succumbed  to  mountain  sickness 
on  the  pass,  with  the  result  that  my  bedding  and  the  kitchen  box 
only  reached  camp  at  9  p.m. 


324  MOUNT   EVEREST 

On  July  15  oiir  road  lay  for  8  miles  along  the  flat  valley  of  the 
Po  Chu  ;  the  river  then  turns  sharply  Southwards,  passing  for  3 
miles  through  a  gorge  of  granite  and  schist.  Bushes  of  wUd  currant, 
gooseberry,  berberis  and  dog-rose  here  begin  to  appear,  and  around 
the  village  of  Targyeling,  where  we  camped,  were  smihng  fields  of 
mustard  and  buckwheat,  in  addition  to  the  usual  Tibetan  crops  of 
barley  and  dwarf  pea.  After  a  month  spent  in  the  bleak  Tibetan 
uplands,  it  was  a  relief  to  pitch  our  tents  in  a  homely  green  field, 
alongside  a  rippling  brook  lined  with  familiar  ranunculus,  cow  parsley, 
forget-me-not,  and  a  singularly  beautiful  pale  mauve  cranesbill, 
and  to  feast  our  eyes  on  the  glorious  purple  of  the  wild  thyme  which 
clothed  the  hillsides  in  great  patches  of  colour. 

The  next  day,  still  following  the  course  of  the  Po  Chu,  we  reached 
Nyenyam,  a  large  and  very  insanitary  village  which  is  known  under 
the  name  of  Kuti  by  the  Nepalis  who  constitute  the  majority  of  its 
inhabitants.  These  Nepali  traders  (Newars)  have  their  own  Hindu 
temple  in  the  village.  There  is  also  a  Nepalese  chauki  (court-house) 
with  a  haqim  (magistrate)  invested  with  summary  powers  of  juris- 
diction over  Nepali  subjects  ;  he  is  specially  charged  with  the 
settlement  of  trade  disputes,  and  with  the  encouragement  of  Tibeto- 
Nepalese  trade  and  commerce. 

As  is  customary  in  all  important  districts  of  Tibet,  there  are  here 
two  Dzongpens,  who  by  a  polite  fiction  are  known  as  "  Eastern  " 
and  "  Western  "  (Dzongshar  and  Dzongnup)  respectively.  Actually, 
the  functions  of  the  two  Dzongpens  are  identical  ;  the  raison  d'etre 
of  the  double  regime  being  an  attempt  to  protect  the  peasants  from 
extortion  by  the  device  of  providing  two  administrators,  who,  in 
theory  at  least,  act  as  a  check  upon  each  other's  peculations.  At 
the  time  of  our  arrival,  those  two  worthies  were  so  busy  preparing 
a  joint  picnic  that  we  had  considerable  difficulty  in  getting  their 
attention. 

I  spent  three  days  in  exploring  the  neighbourhood  of  Nyenyam, 
while  WoUaston  was  engaged  in  his  botanical  and  zoological  pursuits. 
Gujjar  Singh,  with  the  plane-table,  was  detained  by  bad  weather 
higher  up  the  valley.  Below  Nyenyam  the  river  enters  a  very  deep, 
narrow  gorge  ;  pines  and  other  forest  trees  begin  to  appear.  The 
road,  which  here  becomes  impassable  for  animals,  crosses  the  river 
four  times  in  6  miles  by  cantilever  bridges  before  reaching  the  village 
of  Choksum,  but  I  could  find  no  trtce  of  the  portion  described  by 
explorer  Hari  Ram  in  1871  as  consisting  of  slabs  of  stone  9  to  18  inches 
wide  supported  on  iron  pegs  let  into  the  vertical  face  of  the  rock  at 


THE   SURVEY  325 

a  height  of  1,500  feet  above  the  river.  At  Choksum  (10,500  feet) 
the  river  falls  at  an  average  rate  of  500  feet  per  mile.  The  Nepal 
frontier  is  crossed  near  Dram  village,  some  10  miles  further  down 
stream,  but  owing  to  the  vile  state  of  the  weather,  which  rendered 
even  the  roughest  attempts  at  surveying  impossible,  I  abandoned 
all  idea  of  reaching  the  spot. 

On  July  20  we  retraced  our  steps  9  miles  up  the  vaUey  to  Tashishong, 
where  we  found  Dr.  Heron  encamped,  together  with  Gujjar  Singh, 
whose  work  had  been  hung  up  for  a  week  by  continued  cloud  and 
rainfall.  Heron  returned  Northwards  next  day,  while  we  followed 
a  rough  easterly  track  leading  over  the  Lapche  Range  to  the  village 
of  the  same  name  in  the  valley  of  the  Kang  Chu.  The  weather  on 
this  day  was  atrocious,  and  our  last  pretence  of  accurate  surveying 
broke  down.  We  were  unable  to  reach  Lapche  village  by  dusk, 
and  spent  a  somewhat  cheerless  night  on  boulders  in  drenching 
rain  at  14,600  feet,  with  no  fuel  except  a  few  green  twigs  of  dwarf 
rhododendron. 

Lapche  (La-Rimpoche,  "precious  hill")  is  sacred  as  the  home 
and  birthplace  of  Jetsun  IVIila  Repa,  a  wandering  lama  and  saint  who 
lived  in  Southern  Tibet  in  the  eleventh  century,  and  who  taught  by 
parables  and  songs,  some  of  which  have  considerable  literary  merit. 
The  two  principal  works  ascribed  to  him  are  an  autobiography,  or 
namtar,  and  a  collection  of  tracts  called  Labum,  or  the  "  myriad 
songs."  They  are  stiU  among  the  most  popular  books  in  Tibet.* 
His  hermit-cell  still  remains  under  a  rock  on  the  hillside,  and  his 
memory  is  preserved  by  an  ancient  temple  and  monastery,  the  resort 
of  numerous  pUgrims,  alongside  which  we  pitched  our  tents. 

Lapche  village  is  situated  on  a  spur  overlooking  the  junction  of 
two  branches  of  the  Kang  stream — the  latter  being  a  tributary  of 
the  Rongshar  River,  which,  in  turn,  joins  the  Bhotia  Kosi  River  in 
Nepal.  The  extreme  dampness  of  the  local  climate  is  indicated  by 
the  trailing  streamers  of  lichen  which  festoon  the  trees,  and  by  the 
pent  roofs  of  the  buildings.  The  village  contains  some  ten  or  twelve 
houses,  of  which  half  are  occupied  by  Tibetans  and  haK  by  Nepalese 
subjects  (Sharpas) — each  community  having  its  own  headman.  The 
inhabitants  were  very  friendly  and  pleasant,  and  gave  us  a  good  deal 
of  information.  The  village  is  deserted  during  the  winter  months, 
when  the  whole  population  migrates  across  the  border  into  Nepal. 
The  Tibetans  pay  no  taxes  to  Nepal  during  their  half-yearly  sojourn 

♦  Journey   to   Lhasa  and  Central  Tibet,  by    S.  C.  Dass,  C.I.'E.,  page  205, 
footnote  by  Hon.  W.  W.  RockhiJl. 


326  MOUNT   EVEREST 

in  the  lower  valley  ;  conversely,  the  Nepalis  during  then*  summer 
residence  in  Lapclie  are  not  subject  to  Tibetan  taxation  or  to  the 
imposition  of  ulag  (forced  labour).  The  Tibetans  of  Lapche  pay 
their  taxes  in  the  form  of  butter  direct  to  the  Lapche  monastery, 
the  head  lama,  or  abbot,  of  which  resides  at  Phuto  Gompa  near 
Nyenyam.  The  Nepal  frontier  is  some  10  miles  below  Lapche,  opposite 
the  snow-peak  of  Karro  Pumri.  Katmandu  can  be  reached  in  eight 
days,  but  the  track  is  bad  and  very  little  trade  passes  this  way. 

Transport  arrangements  necessitated  a  day's  halt  at  Lapche, 
which  was  fortunately  enlivened  by  the  timely  arrival  of  a  large 
parcel  of  letters  and  newspapers,  which  Colonel  Bury  had  thought- 
fully sent  after  us  from  Tingri — almost  the  last  news  of  the  outside 
world  which  we  were  to  receive  for  over  two  months. 

From  Lapche  we  proceeded  to  the  Rongshar  Valley,  crossing 
the  Kangchen  and  Kangchung  ("big  snow"  and  "little  snow") 
passes.  Descending  the  hill  to  Trintang  village,  where  we  camped 
on  July  25,  the  clouds  lifted  momentarily,  disclosing  an  amazing 
view  of  the  superb  snow  summit  of  Gaurisankar  towering  magnificently 
above  us  just  across  the  valley.  This  mountain,  which  is  called  by 
the  Tibetans  Chomo  Tsering,  or  Trashi  Tsering,  is  the  westernmost 
of  a  group  of  five  very  sacred  peaks  known  collectively  as  Tsering 
Tse-nga  ("Tsering  five  peaks").  Unfortunately,  owing  to  constant 
clouds,  I  was  unable  to  identify  with  certainty  the  remaining  four 
peaks  of  Tingki  Shalzang,  Miyo  Lobzang,  Chopen  Drinzang  and 
Tekar  Drozang.  Owing  to  the  sacred  nature  of  the  Rongshar  Valley, 
the  slaughtering  of  animals  is  strictly  forbidden  ;  the  large  flocks 
and  herds  of  the  villagers  are  only  sold  for  slaughter  in  the  adjoining 
districts  of  Tingri  and  Nepal,  and  we  were  only  able  to  buy  a  sheep 
on  promising  not  to  kill  it  until  after  quitting  the  valley. 

Trintang  vOlage  occupies  a  plateau  1,750  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  river  ;  1,400  feet  below  is  the  village  of  Tropde,  to  which  the 
Trintang  residents  all  descend  in  winter.  Rongshar  Dzong,  which 
is  situated  in  the  lower  village,  has  no  importance  ;  at  the  time  of 
our  visit  the  Dzongpen  had  gone  to  his  home  on  leave  of  absence, 
leaving  his  affairs  in  the  hands  of  a  steward. 

A  day's  halt  being  necessary  in  order  to  collect  transport,  I  took 
the  opportunity  of  descending  the  Rongshar  Valley  as  far  as  the  Nepal 
frontier,  while  Gujjar  Singh  endeavoured,  without  much  success, 
to  pick  up  the  threads  of  his  survey  by  identifying  the  snowy  peaks 
which  occasionally  afforded  brief  glimpses  through  rifts  in  the  clouds. 
The  Rongshar  River  drops  1,400  feet  in  7  miles  between  Tropde  and 


THE   SURVEY  327 

the  Nepal  frontier,  which  is  crossed  at  an  altitude  of  roughly  9,000 
feet. 

On  July  27  we  marched  20  miles  up  the  Rongshar  Valley  to  the 
village  of  Tazang  (Takpa-Santsam,  "limit  of  birch  trees"),  which, 
as  its  name  implies,  is  situated  at  the  extreme  upper  limit  of  the  forest 
zone.  On  the  way  we  passed  the  village  and  monastery  of  Chuphar, 
whence  a  track  leads  South-east  over  the  difficult  snow-pass  of 
Menlung  {"  vale  of  medicinal  herbs  ")  to  the  villages  of  Rowaling 
and  Tangpa  in  the  Kangphu  Valley  of  Nepal. 

Tazang  had  already  been  visited  by  Colonel  Bury,  a  month 
previously.  The  local  headman  was  too  drunk,  on  the  evening  of 
our  arrival,  to  send  out  the  necessary  messages  summoning  the  village 
transport -yaks  from  their  grazing  grounds.  In  consequence,  our 
baggage  was  only  got  under  weigh  at  11  a.m.  next  morning,  and  we 
were  compelled  to  pitch  our  tents  at  a  grazing  camp  (16,500  feet) 
after  only  covering  9  miles.  The  weather  showed  signs  of  improve- 
ment in  proportion  as  we  receded  from  the  Himalayan  gorges,  but 
dense  banks  of  cloud  still  obscured  all  the  hill-tops.  An  easy  march 
over  the  Phuse  La  (17,850  feet)  brought  us  on  the  29th  to  the  bleak 
village  of  Kyetrak,  situated  at  the  foot  of  the  great  Kyetrak  Glacier, 
on  the  extreme  Southern  edge  of  the  Tingri  plain — an  area  which  we 
had  already  surveyed  six  weeks  previously. 

From  Kyetrak  we  proceeded  via  the  Lamna  La  to  Chobuk,  thence 
following  the  tracks  of  the  Expedition  headquarters  which  Colonel 
Bury  had  just  transferred  from  Tingri  to  Kharta  in  the  lower  Bhong 
Chu  Valley.  On  reaching  headquarters  on  August  2,  we  found 
Colonel  Bury  in  sole  occupation — Mallory  and  Bullock  having  left 
that  very  morning  on  a  reconnaissance  of  the  Eastern  approaches 
to  Mount  Everest, 

The  weather  during  the  whole  of  August  was  such  as  to  render 
out-of-door  survey  operations  impossible.  Gujjar  Singh  was  occupied 
during  the  month  in  adjusting  and  inking  his  surveys,  while  I  filled 
in  several  days  in  making  tracings  of  all  work  so  far  completed,  after 
which,  for  the  remainder  of  the  season,  I  joined  the  mountaineers, 
whose  doings  are  recorded  elsewhere  in  this  book. 

On  the  return  journey  in  October  I  despatched  Gujjar  Singh  from 
Gyangkar  Nangpa  to  complete  the  remaining  portions  of  the  Sikkim 
revision-survey  ;  at  the  same  spot  I  picked  up  Lalbir  Singh,  who, 
after  completing  his  survey  of  the  Pharuk  and  Kharta  areas,  had 
crossed  the  Bhong  Chu  below  Lungdo  and  worked  his  way  back  via 
Tashirakar   and    Sar.     Travelling    via   Kampa    and    Lachen   Valley, 


328  MOUNT  EVEREST 

we  reached  Darjeeling  on  October  16.  Tracings  of  the  new  survey 
were  hastily  finished  and  sent  to  press,  with  the  result  that  a  complete 
preliminary  J-inch  map  in  six  colours  was  published  before  the  last 
members  of  the  Expedition  had  sailed  for  England.  A  |-inch 
preliminary  sketch-map  of  the  environs  of  Mount  Everest  was  also 
prepared  by  Major  Wheeler  at  the  same  time  for  the  use  of  the  moun- 
taineers in  discussing  the  details  of  their  next  year's  climb. 

The  out-turn  of  work  during  the  Expedition  was  as  follows  : — 
^-inch  revision  survey  .....  4,000  square  miles 
J-inch  original  survey  .....  12,000  square  miles 
Detail  photo-survey  (environs  of  Mount  Everest)  600  square  miles 

The  surveyors  all  worked  splendidly  under  difficult  and  trying 
conditions.  Major  Wheeler  had  probably  the  hardest  time  of  any 
member  of  the  Expedition,  and  his  success  in  achieving  single-handed 
the  mapping  of  600  square  miles  of  some  of  the  most  mountainous 
country  in  the  world  is  sufficient  proof  of  his  determination  and  grit. 
It  is  difficult  for  those  who  have  not  actually  had  the  experience  to 
conceive  the  degree  of  mental  and  physical  discomfort  which  results 
to  the  surveyor  from  prolonged  camping  at  high  altitudes  during 
the  monsoon,  waiting  for  the  fine  day  which  never  comes.  Such 
was  our  fate  for  four  months  during  the  Expedition  of  1921,  yet  on 
looking  back  one  feels  that  the  results  were  weU  worth  while.  The 
discomforts  soon  fade  from  recollection  ;  the  pleasures  alone  remain 
in  one's  memory,  and  there  is  not  one  of  us  but  would  gladly  repeat 
our  season's  experiences,  if  so  required. 


APPENDIX  II 

THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  SURVEY 
By  Major  E.  O.  WHEELER,  M.C. 

I  had  purchased  a  set  of  photo-topographical  surveying  instruments 
of  the  Canadian  pattern,  on  behalf  of  the  Survey  of  India,  while  on 
leave  in  1920.  A  trial  of  this  method  of  surveying  mountainous 
country  was  to  be  carried  out  in  Garhwal  in  1921  ;  but  when  Survey 
of  India  officers  were  asked  for  to  accompany  the  Mount  Everest 
Expedition,  I  was  detailed  to  carry  out  the  trial  there.  Possibly  a 
word  of  explanation  of  the  method  used  may  not  be  amiss. 

The  "  Canadian  "  method — if  I  may  caU  it  so  ;  for  although  it 
was  invented  and  has  been  used  elsewhere,  it  has  been  far  more 
extensively  applied  in  Canada  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  world — 
may  be  briefly  described  as  "  plane-tabling  by  photography."  It 
requires,  equally  with  the  plane-table,  an  accurate  framework,  on 
which  to  base  the  detailed  survey  ;  and  simply  substitutes  a  small 
(3-inch  vernier)  theodolite  and  camera  for  the  sight-rule  and 
plane-table.  Stations  are  fixed  and  photographs  oriented  by  means 
of  the  theodolite  ;  the  photographs,  which  are  taken  so  as  to  be  as 
nearly  as  possible  true  perspectives,  represent  the  country  as  it  would 
be  seen  by  the  plane-tabler,  and  detail  on  them  may  be  fixed  by 
intersections  or  sketched  in  by  eye  in  exactly  the  same  way  as  on  the 
plane-table. 

Angles  are  read  and  photographs  taken  in  the  field  ;  and,  if 
considered  necessary  to  test  exposures  or  protect  photographic  plates 
from  deterioration  due  to  climatic  conditions,  development  of  plates 
is  also  carried  out  there.  Otherwise,  the  map  is  made  wholly  in  the 
office,  using  either  contact  prints  or  enlargements,  from  the  negatives 
taken  in  the  field.  The  latter  are  usually  preferable.  The  main 
advantages  at  high  altitudes  over  the  plane-table  are,  that  a  much 
larger  area  can  be  covered  in  a  given  time  in  the  field,  that  the 
instruments  are  more  portable  for  difficult  climbing,  that  there  is 
no  necessity  to  do  accurate  drawing  with  numbed  fingers,  and  that 

329 


330  MOUNT   EVEREST 

the  draughtsman  may  see  the  country  from  several  points  of  view 
at  one  time.  On  the  other  hand,  more  equipment  is  necessary,  and 
— a  great  disadvantage  sometimes,  as  in  this  case — the  map  does  not 
come  into  being  as  one  goes  along. 

After  carrying  out  various  preliminary  adjustments  and  tests 
at  the  office  of  the  Trigonometrical  Survey  at  Dehra  Dun,  I  reached 
Darjeeling  on  April  30,  and  Tingri  on  June  19,  travelling  with 
Expedition  Headquarters  via  Phari  Dzong. 

En  route  Tingri,  we  had  caught  glimpses  of  Everest  and  the 
neighbouring  peaks  ;  so  that  by  the  time  we  arrived  there,  I  was 
able,  with  the  help  of  the  existing  maps  and  what  local  information 
we  had  obtained,  to  decide  on  the  area  I  would  attempt  to  survey. 
I  say  "  attempt,"  for  little  was  really  known  then  about  the  geography, 
and  still  less  about  the  weather  conditions  throughout  the  summer. 
As  it  turned  out  in  the  end,  the  area  had  to  be  much  curtailed,  and 
certain  parts  surveyed  in  considerably  less  detail  than  I  should  have 
liked  :  almost  wholly  on  account  of  the  weather.  Although  it  was 
often  fairly  clear  at  6  a.m.  or  so,  photographs  taken  before  8, 
particularly  at  the  latter  end  of  the  season,  were  of  little  use  for 
surveying  purposes. 

However,  at  the  outset,  I  had  hoped  to  map,  on  the  scale  of  1  inch 
=  1  mile,  the  whole  area  between  the  Arun  Gorge  on  the  East  and 
the  Ra  Chu  on  the  West :  and  from  the  Nepal-Tibet  boundary 
Northwards  for  some  20  miles  ;  i.e.  to  the  point  where  the  various 
streams,  flowing  in  a  Northerly  direction  from  the  high  boundary 
ridge,  issue  from  the  mountains  proper  into  the  more  rolling  foot-hills 
on  the  Southern  outskirts  of  the  Tibetan  Plateau.  This  area  includes 
Mount  Everest  itself  near  the  centre  of  its  Southern  side,  Makalu  and 
Pk.  25,413  to  the  South-east,  Pks.  23,800  (Khartaphu),  23,420,  and 
23,080  to  the  North-east  and  North,  and  Pks.  25,990  (Gyachung 
Kang),  25,202,  25,909  and  26,867  (Cho  Oyu)  to  the  North-west  ;  and 
comprises  some  1,000  square  miles  of  country  :  a  suitable  season's  work, 
given  reasonably  fine  weather.     This  unfortunately  we  did  not  get. 

On  June  24,  the  day  after  Messrs.  Mallory  and  Bullock  had  started 
for  the  Rongbuk  Valley,  Dr.  Heron  and  I  marched  South  across  the 
plain  to  the  village  of  Sharto,  en  route  Kyetrak,  in  the  Ra  Chu  Valley, 
where  I  intended  to  establish  my  base  camp  while  surveying  the 
Kyetrak  Glacier  and  West  face  of  the  Cho  Oyu — Gyachung  Kang 
group.  The  next  day  we  moved  on  to  Kyetrak,  1  mile  below  the 
snout  of  the  glacier,  and  made  camp  there.  This  bleak  village  and 
the  route  to  it  and  over  the  Phiise  La  have  already  been  described. 


THE   PHOTOGRAPHIC  SURVEY  331 

June  26  was  fine,  so  after  crossing  the  Ra  Chu  on  local  ponies, 
ourselves  and  our  ice-axes  and  rucksacks  perched  on  Tibetan  saddles 
— a  cold  and  uncomfortable  proceeding  in  the  early  morning — we 
ascended  the  18,000-foot  hill  immediately  West  of  the  village.  Up 
to  1  p.m.  we  had  excellent  views  across  and  up  the  Kyetrak  Valley  ; 
but  only  a  glimpse  of  Gauri  Sankar  (Chomo  Tsering)  to  the  South-west, 
where  heavy  clouds  soon  began  to  roll  up.  Cho  Oyu  and  Pk.  25,909 
and  their  spurs  unfortunately  cut  out  all  distant  views  to  the  South- 
east, as  they  did  everywhere  in  the  upper  part  of  this  valley  ;  so  that 
my  first  view  of  Everest  was  from  Tingri  a  month  later.  Next  day, 
we  started  shortly  after  daylight  for  a  spur  on  the  East  side  of  the 
valley  ;  unfortunately — and  this  happened  in  the  case  of  almost 
every  peak  I  started  for  until  mid-September — clouds  began  to  roll 
up,  and  we  were  forced  to  stop  to  take  the  photographs  before  we 
had  reached  a  really  good  view-point. 

Colonel  Bury  arrived  at  Kyetrak  shortly  after  we  got  back  to 
camp.  On  the  28th  he  and  Heron  started  off  early  for  a  flying  visit 
to  the  Kyetrak  Glacier  and  Nangba  La  ;  I  started  later,  after  getting 
kit  together,  for  a  camp  half-way  up  the  glacier,  and  about  6  miles 
from  Kyetrak.  About  2  p.m.  I  found  a  comparatively  dry  spot  on 
shale  at  18,000  feet,  and  pitched  my  tents  there,  the  last  of  the  coolies 
arriving  only  at  6  p.m.  The  place  was  bleak  enough,  but  was  as  far 
as  I  could  get  that  day,  and  seemed  suitable  for  two  climbs — one  on 
either  side  of  the  glacier. 

My  equipment  consisted  of  the  camera,  theodolite,  and  a  small 
plane-table — to  help  in  identifying  triangulated  points — by  way  of 
instruments,  which  were  carried  by  three  coolies  who  remained  wdth 
me.  Ten  other  coolies  slept  at  the  base  camp  at  Kyetrak,  and  carried 
stores  up  to  me  or  moved  the  camp,  as  required  ;  the  camp  consisted 
of  a  Whymper  tent  for  the  three  coolies  and  a  Meade  for  myself  ; 
bedding,  food,  a  Primus  stove  and  tin  of  kerosene  for  my  own  cooking, 
and  yak  dung  fuel  for  the  coolies.  My  servant  remained  at  the  base 
camp  and  sent  up  cooked  meat  and  vegetables  ;  otherwise  I  cooked 
for  myself. 

June  29  and  30  were  useless  days  ;  but  on  July  1  the  weather 
cleared  a  bit,  and  after  crossing  the  glacier,  I  went  up  a  sharp  rock 
shoulder  of  Cho  Rapzang.  The  peak  was  mainly  loose  granite  blocks 
at  a  steep  angle,  so  that  progress  was  slow  :  it  was  noon  when  I  reached 
the  top  (about  19,500  feet),  and  as  I  did  so  the  clouds  settled  dowTi, 
and  it  began  to  snow.  However,  at  4  p.m.  it  cleared  sufficiently  for 
some  work  to  be  done  ;  after  that  we  came  down  as  quickly  as  possible 


332  MOUNT  EVEREST 

in  another  blinding  snowstorm,  and  reached  camp  just  after  dark  ; 
I  for  one  very  tired.  I  found  the  coolies  exceedingly  slow  in  coming 
down  the  loose  blocks,  I  think  because  their  balance  was  bad — they 
had  to  use  their  hands  far  more  than  I  did. 

I  had  a  good  view  of  the  glacier  from  here  :  the  East  side  is  very 
steep  and  broken,  with  several  tributary  glaciers  flowing  down  from 
Cho  Oyu  and  Pk.  25,909,  and  from  a  23,000-foot  Peak  (not  triangulated) 
to  the  North  of  the  latter.  The  West  side,  except  for  Cho  Rapzang, 
round  which  the  glacier  flows,  is  a  snowfield  falling  more  or  less  gently 
from  a  low  ridge  running  from  the  pass  to  the  West  of  Cho  Rapzang. 
The  glacier  itself  is  like  many  others  in  this  region,  moraine  covered 
for  3  or  4  miles  above  its  snout,  "  pinnacled  "  for  another  mile,  and 
finally  practically  flat.  But  this  flat  portion  gives  by  no  means  good 
going  ;  when  frozen  it  is  very  irregular  and  trying  to  walk  over  ;  and 
when  thawed,  is  slushy  and  water  soaked.  There  are  two  large  water 
channels  in  the  ice  which  are  unpleasant  to  cross  ;  these  are  from 
10  to  15  feet  wide  and  20  feet  deep,  and  carry  a  large  volume  of  water 
in  the  afternoon.  Crossing  without  a  rope  is  distinctly  dangerous, 
for  although  one  can  find  places  easy  enough  to  jump,  a  slip  would 
be  certain  death,  for  once  in  the  channel  it  would  be  quite  impossible 
to  get  out,  or  even  to  stop  oneself  on  its  smooth  ice  floor  and  sides. 

Cloudy  weather  then  set  in ;  but  on  the  3rd  I  got  a  few 
photographs  from  a  shoulder  near  by,  and  moved  camp  2  or  3  miles 
farther  up  the  glacier  (at  about  18,500  feet).  I  was  in  this  camp  for 
nine  days  and  only  succeeded  in  taking  two  low  stations,  one  on  either 
side  of  the  glacier  and  each  about  1|  miles  from  the  pass  (Nangba 
La)  to  Nepal  ;  but  the  valley  on  the  South  side,  leading  down  to 
Kliungphu,  turns  sharply  to  the  East  just  below  the  pass,  and  little 
could  be  seen  of  the  Nepalese  side.  Each  of  these  stations  I  went  up 
twice — to  wait  all  day  long  the  first  time,  in  each  case,  for  weather 
which  never  came.  To  reach  the  station  on  the  East  side  of  the 
glacier  I  had  the  only  comparatively  difficult  rock  climbing  which  I 
met  with  during  the  course  of  the  Expedition  ;  and  on  the  way  down 
watched  my  theodolite  coolie,  whom  I  had  left  behind  exhausted  in 
the  morning,  tumble  off  a  steep  rock  arete,  theodolite  and  all ; 
fortunately  he  jammed  in  a  crack  a  few  feet  below,  and  was  unhurt. 
During  the  day  he  had  started  up  after  us  on  his  own,  and  had  lost 
his  way  in  the  clouds. 

On  July  12 — another  wet  day — I  moved  camp  some  distance 
down  the  main  glacier  and  up  a  tributary  flowing  from  Pk.  25,909  and 
Cho  Oyu,  and  next  day  ascended  a  shoulder  whence  a  good  view  into 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC   SURVEY  333 

the  cirque  below  these  two  peaks  was  obtained — or  should  have  been 
obtained  !  But  again  I  sat  till  dusk  and  saw  little  or  nothing.  Early 
the  following  day,  however,  it  was  fairly  clear,  so  I  got  my  photographs 
and  then  moved  camp  back  to  the  base  at  Kyetrak, 

The  next  three  days  were  spent  in  moving  my  base  camp  to  the 
bridge  across  the  Ra  Chu,  6  miles  below  Kyetrak  ;  taking  a  light 
camp  up  to  about  18,000  feet  on  the  prominent  hill  immediately 
East  of  the  bridge,  climbing  the  latter,  sitting  through  the  usual 
storms  without  doing  any  work,  and  returning  to  the  bridge.  Time 
was  getting  on,  and  the  weather  was  still  bad,  so  I  then  decided  to 
leave  my  camp  at  the  bridge  and  move  into  Headquarters  myself 
to  get  developing,  etc.,  up  to  date,  and  have  a  short  rest.  I  walked 
into  Tingri,  with  two  coolies,  on  July  18,  and  found  Colonel  Bury 
there  alone  :  and  the  Headquarters  house  felt  very  comfortable 
indeed  after  a  Meade  tent,  in  spite  of  nightly  pilgrimages  from  one 
dry  spot  to  another,  as  the  roof  leaked  ! 

Five  busy  days  were  spent  at  Tingri  developing  and  printing  ; 
and  as  the  weather  showed  little  sign  of  improvement,  I  decided  to 
go  on  with  Headquarters  to  Chobuk,  in  the  Rongbuk  Valley  and  work 
on  that  side,  so  as  to  make  sure  of  completing  the  most  important 
part,  in  the  vicinity  of  Everest,  and  return  to  the  Kyetrak  Valley  if 
there  should  be  time.  So  on  the  24th  Colonel  Bury  and  I  left  Tingri 
and  reached  Chobuk  on  the  25th,  where  we  met  Mallory  and  Bullock, 
just  in  from  their  reconnaissance  of  the  North  and  North-west  sides 
of  Everest.  A  talk  with  them  gave  me  some  idea  of  the  country, 
and  the  view  from  an  18,000-foot  hill  above  Chobuk  enabled  me  to 
make  a  plan  of  campaign  :  far  more  extensive,  as  always,  than  the 
weather  eventually  allowed. 

Colonel  Bury,  Mallory  and  Bullock  had  gone  on  to  Kharta  on  July 
26  ;  on  the  27th  I  moved  up  the  right  bank  of  the  Rongbuk  Valley 
some  10  miles,  to  the  monastery,  above  which  I  took  a  20,000-foot 
tation  the  next  day.  The  weather  was  dreadful,  but  at  6  p.m.  I 
got  a  round  of  photographs,  which  really  turned  out  very  well 
considering  the  time  of  day  at  which  they  were  taken  :  it  took  me 
four  and  a  half  hours  to  get  up  this  peak — fresh  snow  and  scree — 
and  although  I  had  no  glissades,  only  half  an  hour  to  come  down. 

On  the  27th  I  moved  camp  to  a  grassy  hollow  near  the  snout  of 
the  glacier — Mallory  and  Bullock's  base — and  next  day  occupied 
another  hill  overlooking  the  main  glacier  and  valley,  and  looking  up 
the  side  valley  on  the  East,  which  joins  the  Dzakar  Chu  just  below 
the  glacier  snout.    The  next  three  days  were  spent  in  establishing 


334  MOUNT  EVEREST 

a  light  camp  on  the  left  bank  of  the  East  branch  of  the  Rongbuk 
Glacier,  about  3  miles  from  its  snout,  and  taking  a  station  on  its  left 
bank  to  overlook  both  the  East  and  main  glaciers. 

The  Rongbuk  Glacier  is  made  up  of  two  large  branches,  one  flowing 
from  the  snow  basin  immediately  below  the  great  Korth  wall  of 
Everest,  and  the  other,  the  "West  Rongbuk  "  which  joins  the  main 
Btream  about  4  miles  above  the  snout  of  the  glacier,  flowing  East 
in  the  basin  between  the  high  North-west  ridge  of  Everest  and  the 
South-east  slopes  of  Pk.  25,990  (Gyachung  Kang).  At  onetime  there 
was  a  third  branch,  the  *'  East  Rongbuk,"  which  must  have  also 
joined  the  main  stream,  but  this  has  receded  until  its  snout  is  now 
a  mile  or  more  East  of  the  main  glacier,  and  only  its  torrent  pours 
into  a  large  cave  in  the  latter.  The  East  Rongbuk  itself  consists  of 
two  branches  :  one,  the  more  southerly,  flows  from  the  great  snow 
basin  (which  we  eventually  crossed  to  reach  the  North  Col)  between 
Everest,  its  North  Peak  and  Col,  and  Pk.  23,800  (Khartaphu)  ;  and 
the  other,  which  joins  the  South  branch  about  2  miles  from  its  snout, 
from  between  Pks.  23,800  and  23,420.  The  former  gives  a  20,000-foot 
pass,  very  steep  on  the  South  side,  to  the  Kama  Valley  ;  and  the 
latter,  an  easy  pass  of  about  the  same  height  to  the  head  of  one  branch 
of  the  Kharta  Valley. 

I  camped,  at  about  19,500  feet,  on  the  moraine-covered  glacier 
opposite  the  junction  of  the  northerly  branch  from  Pks.  23,800  and 
23,420.  On  the  way  up  I  followed  the  watercourse  between  the  ice 
of  the  Main  Rongbuk  Glacier  and  the  scree  and  conglomerate  slopes 
to  the  East  of  it,  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  East  Rongbuk  stream 
(3  miles),  which  gave  good  though  boulder-strewn  going.  Thence  a 
short  scramble  up  "  cut-bank  "  on  the  right  bank  of  the  East  Rongbuk 
stream  to  the  shelf  of  an  old  lateral  moraine  of  that  glacier,  and  along 
the  latter — excellent  going — to  near  its  snout.  The  stream  is  pretty 
big  in  the  evening  ;  but  quite  easy  to  cross — except  for  iced  rocks — 
in  the  early  morning  :  and  from  there  I  followed  up  a  series  of  lateral 
moraines  on  the  left  bank,  to  my  camp.  It  was  not  till  I  was  coming 
down  that  I  discovered  that  the  moraine-covered  glacier  itself — here 
covered  with  shale  instead  of  boulders  and  scree  as  in  the  case  of  the 
main  glacier — gave  comfortable  walking. 

A  little  distance  below  my  camp  site,  the  moraine-covered  snout 
gives  place  to  pinnacled  ice,  divided  into  three  sections  by  two  broad, 
shaly  medial  moraines.  Either  of  the  latter  would  be  very  suitable 
for  a  camp,  and  would  give  an  excellent  route  to  our  21,500-foot  camp 
below    the    Chang  La.      The    latter    might,    I    think,    be    reached 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC   SURVEY  335 

by  this  route  in  three  days  from  the  base  camp  at  the  snout  of  the 
main  glacier,  camping  the  first  night  at  19,000  feet  at  the  start  of 
the  medial  moraine,  the  second  at  20,000  feet  on  the  medial  moraine 
some  2  miles  above  the  junction  of  the  Northern  and  Southern 
branches  of  the  East  Rongbuk,  and  the  third  night  on  snow  at  21,500 
feet  below  the  North  Col.  The  better  moraine  to  ascend  would  require 
reconnaissance  ;  for  the  pinnacles  between  them  are  difficult  and  slow 
to  cross.  The  valley  sides  are  steep  in  the  lower  reaches  of  the  glacier, 
but  more  shaly  and  gentle  on  both  branches,  above  their  junction. 

August  3  broke  clear  ;  and  I  started  up  a  likely  looking  peak 
behind  (South  of)  camp,  which  appeared  to  be  on  the  ridge  between 
the  East  and  main  glaciers.  I  afterwards  found  that  this  was  not 
the  case  ;  at  the  time  I  had  to  stop  on  a  lower  point  as  the  clouds 
settled  down.  From  here  I  had  a  glimpse  of  a  big  peak — Makalu, 
I  thought — over  the  pass  at  the  head  of  the  southerly  branch  of  the 
glacier  :  and  this  gave  me  the  idea  that  there  must  be  a  comparatively 
low  pass  from  here  to  the  Kama  Valley.  But  clouds  prevented  me 
seeing  more  and  studying  the  topography  more  carefully.  There 
were  heavy  snowstorms  on  August  4  and  5,  but  the  6th  looked  better, 
and  after  four  hours'  most  strenuous  step -cutting  up  and  slithering 
down  pinnacles,  I  crossed  the  glacier  and  ascended  a  21,000-foot 
station  on  the  other  side,  from  which  I  obtained  good,  if  cloudy, 
views  of  the  East  Rongbuk  Glacier.  Snow  in  the  night  and  a  dull 
morning  made  me  decide  to  abandon  this  area — I  could  get  my  camp 
no  farther  up  owing  to  having  insufficient  warm  clothes  to  camp  all 
my  coolies  at  this  height — and  I  returned  to  the  base  camp,  preparatory 
to  tackling  the  West  side  of  the  Rongbuk  Valley.  Six  hours'  easy 
going  took  me  to  my  base  camp. 

After  two  days'  rest  and  office  work,  I  crossed  the  glacier  and  put 
a  light  camp  at  about  19,000  feet  in  a  small  hanging  valley  below 
the  "  Finger,"  a  black  rock  gendarme  which  is  a  very  prominent 
landmark  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Rongbuk  Valley.  On  August  11 
it  snowed  heavily,  and  I  found  my  bed,  in  which  I  spent  the  day, 
very  hard  indeed — the  camp  being  pitched  on  large  boulders  on 
top  of  the  moraine.  On  the  12th,  13th,  and  14th,  I  started  for  the 
"  Finger,"  the  first  time  by  the  ridge  immediately  above  camp,  which 
gave  some  nice  climbing  with  the  rocks  partly  snow  covered  as  they 
were,  and  the  other  two  days,  by  a  much  quicker  but  less  interesting 
route  up  soft  snow  and  scree.  Each  day  the  clouds  came  down,  and 
although  I  waited  till  nearly  dark  at  about  20,500  feet  on  the  ridge,  it  was 
not  till  the  third  day  that  I  got  a  round  of  indifferent  photographs. 


336  MOUNT   EVEREST 

Time  was  getting  on,  so  on  the  15th  I  called  my  "  Finger  "  station 
"  good  enough  "  and  moved  camp  up  the  left  bank  of  the  main  glacier 
to  a  point  on  the  old  lateral  moraine,  opposite  the  entrance  of  the 
stream  from  the  East  Rongbuk  ;  and  the  next  day  round  the  corner 
to  the  West,  some  distance  up  the  West  Rongbuk  Glacier,  and  about 
1,000  feet  above  it.  En  route,  I  tried  to  get  some  photographs  from 
the  high  moraine  at  the  junction  of  the  West  with  the  main  glacier  ; 
but  again  the  weather  defeated  me,  and  I  got  into  camp — another 
uncomfortable  one — soaked  to  the  skin. 

I  was  in  this  camp  for  five  days  ;  most  of  them  spent  huddled 
under  rocks  waiting  for  the  clouds  to  lift.  I  had  one  beautiful 
day,  my  only  one  in  six  weeks,  and  got  some  very  nice  photographs 
of  Mount  Everest  and  its  West  ridge.  It  is  surprising  how  a  little 
good  weather  and  the  feeling  of  having  really  done  some  work  affects 
one's  spirits  ! 

On  August  211  moved  back  to  my  base  camp  at  the  glacier  snout, 
again  trying  for  a  station  at  the  corner — and  faihng.  I  had  not 
done  nearly  as  much  as  I  wanted  to  do  ;  but  there  seemed  to  be  no 
end  to  the  bad  weather,  and  only  a  month  or  a  bit  more  remained  in 
which  to  map  the  whole  of  the  East  side  of  the  mountain  :  and  I 
had  heard  from  Colonel  Bury  that  there  would  be  a  considerable 
amount  of  work  on  that  side.  Originally,  I  had  hoped  not  only  to 
return  to  the  bridge  over  the  Ra  Chu  to  complete  the  work  in  the 
Kyetrak  Valley,  but  also  to  take  several  stations  in  the  valleys  running 
North  from  the  23,000-foot  group  North  of  Everest.  But  again  apart 
from  shortage  of  time,  the  weather  made  it  out  of  the  question,  and  I 
went  through  to  Kharta,  via  the  Doya  La,  arriving  there  on  August  27. 

The  change  in  scenery  immediately  one  crosses  the  Doya  La  is 
most  marked,  both  as  regards  rock  and  vegetation.  The  former — 
mostly  gneiss — is  far  more  rugged  and  interesting,  and  there  is  infinitely 
more  of  the  latter.  The  Headquarters  camp  at  Kharta,  in  a  little 
poplar  grove,  was  pleasant  indeed  after  the  bleak,  uninteresting 
Rongbuk  Valley  ;  and  I  thoroughly  enjoyed  my  five  days  there, 
developing  and  printing  ;  busy  days,  but  very  different  from  lying 
on  one's  back  on  the  sharp  boulders  of  the  Rongbuk  moraines. 
Mallory,  Bullock  and  Morshead  were  in  Kharta  when  I  arrived ; 
Colonel  Bury  and  Wollaston  returned  from  their  excursion  to  the 
Popti  La  soon  after,  and  Raeburn  arrived  on  September  1.  It  was 
a  great  treat  to  me  to  be  able  to  "  swap  lies  "  with  so  many  people, 
after  two  months  almost  wholly  alone  ! 

On  September  3  Morshead  and  I  started  up  the  Kharta  Chu  in 


THE   PHOTOGRAPHIC  SURVEY  337 

the  wake  of  Mallory  and  Bullock,  who  had  gone  up  to  get  the 
*'  bundobust  "  for  the  final  fling  going.  As  usual,  bad  weather  dogged 
my  footsteps,  and  although  the  weather  while  I  was  in  Kharta  had 
been  glorious,  Morshcad  and  I  spent  seven  days  in  taking  two  very 
indifferent  stations  in  the  lower  part  of  the  Kharta  Valley,  before 
joining  the  remainder  of  the  expedition  at  the  "  Advanced  Base  " 
on  September  11.  A  further  eight  days  were  spent  there,  waiting 
for  the  weather  ;  but  in  that  time  I  was  able  to  get  two  very  useful 
stations,  one  on  either  side  of  the  valley. 

On  September  19  1  moved  up  to  "No.  1  Camp  "  with  Mallory, 
Bullock  and  Morshead  ;  and  shared  the  fortunes  of  the  rest  of  the 
Expedition  as  far  as  Kampa  Dzong  on  the  way  back  to  Darjeeling, 
where  Raeburn,  Heron  and  I  left  Headquarters  to  return  to  Dar- 
jeeling via  Lachen  and  the  Teesta  Valley.  I  was  delighted  to  get 
into  the  "  final  push,"  and  enjoyed  the  few  days'  change  from  surveying 
to  climbing,  enormously  ;  except  that  I  felt  the  cold  very  much  in 
my  feet,  and  had  it  not  been  for  Mallory's  good  offices — he  rubbed 
my  feet  for  a  solid  hour  after  we  came  down  from  Chang  La — 
I  feel  sure  that  the  result  might  have  been  much  more  serious  than 
the  slight  discomfort  I  afterwards  experienced. 

I  took  three  stations  in  the  neighbourhood  of  No.  1  Camp — one 
on  either  side  of  the  Kharta  Glacier,  and  one  at  22,300  feet  on  the 
"  Lhakpa  La."  This  was  on  snow,  with  my  instrument  resting  on, 
and  steadied  by,  bags  of  "  tsampa  "  ;  which  proved  to  be  a  most 
excellent  substitute  for  rock  ! 

On  September  26  I  crossed  with  Colonel  Bury  and  Wollaston  to 
the  Kama  Valley  ;  unfortunately,  we  only  had  two  clear  days  there, 
and  I  had  to  leave  it  without  covering  as  much  ground  as  I  should 
have  liked,  though — as  usual — I  spent  my  days  in  snowstorms, 
hoping  for  breaks  in  the  clouds. 

The  return  to  Darjeeling  via  the  SerpoLa,  Lachen,  and  the  Teesta 
Valley,  made  a  pleasant  change  from  the  Phari  route  ;  but  again 
bad  weather  spoiled  our  views,  and  we  saw  nothing  at  all  of 
Kangchenjunga  and  its  neighbours.  Raeburn  went  in  by  the  usual 
road  via  Gangtok  ;  Heron  and  I  followed  the  river — an  excellent 
route  in  spite  of  the  prevalence  of  leeches — and  reached  Pashok  on 
October  19.  Heron  went  on  to  Darjeeling,  a  further  18  miles,  the 
same  day.     I  followed  on  the  20th, 

I  enjoyed  the  Expedition  and  my  work  with  it,  thoroughly  ;  but 
in  my  opinion,  Tibet,  at  any  rate  that  portion  of  it  in  which  we  were, 
is  a  place  to  have  been,  rather  than  one  to  go  to ! 

M.E.  Z 


APPENDIX  III 

A  NOTE  ON  THE  GEOLOGICAL  RESULTS  OF  THE  EXPEDITION 
By  a.  M.  HERON,  D.Sc,  F.G.S.,  Geological  Survey  of  India. 

The  area  geologically  examined  is  somewhat  over  8,000  square 
miles,  comprising  the  Tibetan  portion  of  the  Arun  drainage  area, 
with,  in  the  West,  the  headwaters  of  the  Bhotia  Kosi  and  its  tributaries. 

The  circumstances  of  the  Expedition  were  not  favourable  for 
work  in  any  detail,  but  an  endeavour  was  made  to  traverse  and  map 
as  large  an  area  as  possible  on  a  scale  of  |-inch  to  the  mile,  on  skeleton 
maps  very  kmdly  furnished  by  Major  Morshead  and  his  surveyors  as 
their  plane-tabling  proceeded  ;  my  work  must  therefore  be  considered 
as  a  geological  reconnaissance  pure  and  simple. 

If  I  am  accorded  the  privilege  of  accompanying  the  second 
Expedition,  by  which  time  Major  Wheeler's  map  on  a  scale  of  1-inch 
to  the  mile  will  be  available,  I  hope  to  be  able  to  make  a  detailed 
survey  of  the  vicinity  of  Mount  Everest  and  investigate  the  complicated 
inter-relationships  of  the  metamorphosed  sedimentarles  and  the 
associated  gneisses  and  granites. 

My  survey  continues  to  the  Westward  Sir  Henry  Hayden's  work 
during  the  Tibet  Expedition  in  1903-4. 

Geologically  this  area  is  divided  into  two  broad  divisions  :  (a) 
Tibetan  and  sedimentary,  (h)  Himalayan  aixd  crystalline,  a  distinction 
which  is  clearly  displayed  in  the  topography  resulting  from  the 
underlying  geological  structure,  for  to  the  North  we  have  the  somewhat 
tame  and  lumpy  mountains  of  Tibet  contrasting  with  the  higher, 
steeper  and  more  rugged  Himalayas  on  the  South. 

The  Tibetan  zone  consists  of  an  intensely  folded  succession  of 
shales  and  limestones,  with  subordinate  sandstone  quartzites,  the 
folds  striking  East-West  and  mainly  lying  over  towards  the  South, 
showing  that  the  movements  which  produced  them  came  from  the 
North. 

The  uppermost  rocks  consist  of  the  Kampa  system  of  Hayden, 
a  great  thickness  of  limestones,  which,  where  the  rocks  have  escaped 

338 


GEOLOGICAL  RESULTS  339 

alteration,  yield  an  assemblage  of  fossils  which  determine  their  age 
as  Cretaceous  and  Eocene. 

Below  these  is  a  monotonous  succession  of  shales,  practically 
unfossiliferous,  with  occasional  quartzites  and  limestones  representing 
the  Upper  and  Middle  Jurassic  with  at  the  base  beds  probably  belonging 
to  the  Lias. 

These  Jurassic  shales  are  by  far  the  most  conspicuous  formation 
in  this  part  of  Tibet,  being  repeated  many  times  in  complicated  folds. 

The  Cretaceous-Eocene  limestones  form  comparatively  narrow 
bands,  occurring  as  compressed  synclines  caught  up  in  the  folded 
complex  of  Jurassic  shales. 

Along  the  Southern  border  of  the  Tibetan  zone,  below  the  base  of 
the  Jurassic  shales,  is  a  great  thickness  (2,000  feet-3,000  feet)  of 
thinly  bedded  limestones  in  which  the  fossils  have  been  destroyed 
and  the  rocks  themselves  converted  over  considerable  areas  into 
crystalline  limestones  and  calc-gneisses  containing  tremolite,  epidote, 
tourmaline,  etc.,  but  still  retaining  their  original  bedded  structure  in 
the  banding  of  the  altered  rock. 

The  absence  of  determinable  fossils  makes  it  impossible  to  determine 
the  age  of  these  with  certainty,  but  from  their  lithological  character 
and  position  in  the  sequence,  it  is  possible  that  they  correspond  with 
the  Tso  Lhamo  limestone  in  Sikhim  (Lias)  and  the  Kioto  limestone 
of  the  Zangskar  range  (Lower  Jurassic  and  Upper  Trias). 

The  Himalayan  and  crystalline  zone  is  essentially  composed  of 
foliated  and  banded  biotite-gneiss,  usually  garnetiferous,  on  which 
lie,  at  comparatively  low  angles  and  with  a  general  Northerly  dip,  the 
above-mentioned  calc-gneisses. 

These  occur  most  abundantly  to  the  North  and  West  of  Everest, 
in  the  Keprak,  Rongbu,  Hlalung  and  Rebu  Valleys.  The  group  of 
high  peaks  to  the  North-west  of  Everest  (overlooking  the  Khumbu 
Pass)  is  made  up  of  these  and  intrusive  Gchorl  granite,  and  it  would 
seem  that  the  precipitous  North-western  face  and  spurs  of  Everest 
are  the  same. 

The  Eastern  and  North-eastern  valleys,  Chongphu,  Kharta  and 
Kama,  which  are  in  general  at  a  lower  level  than  the  North-western 
valleys,  are  excavated  in  the  biotite-gneiss.  On  the  North-eastern 
face  of  Everest  fresh  snow  was  too  abundant  at  the  time  of  my  visit 
to  make  out  what  the  rocks  were. 

Associated  with  the  limestones  and  calc-gneisses  are  quartzites 
and  tourmaline-biotite  schists  which  probably  represent  the  lowest 
portions  of  the  shales  immediately  overlying  the  limestones. 
M.E.  z* 


340  MOUNT   EVEREST 

It  is  probable  that  the  biotite-gneiss  is  an  igneous  rock  intrusive 
in  the  calc-gneisses  and  schists,  but  this  and  many  other  puzzling 
features  of  the  crystallines  require  more  detailed  study  than  I  was  able 
to  give  this  year. 

Both  biotite-gneiss  and  metamorphosed  sedimentaries  are  crowded 
with  dykes  and  sills,  of  all  dimensions,  of  schorl  granite  or  pegmatite 
to  such  an  extent  that  this  granite  is  frequently  the  predominant 
rock.  It  is  highly  resistant  to  weathering  and  it  is  doubtless  due  to 
its  presence  in  large  amount  that  such  comparatively  soft  rocks  as 
the  calc-gneisses  take  part  in  forming  some  of  the  highest  summits. 

In  the  same  way  the  scattered  peaks  of  over  20,000  feet  on  the 
watershed  between  the  Arun  and  the  Tsangpo  owe  their  prominence 
to  their  being  groups  of  veins  of  a  very  similar  granite,  differing  in 
that  it  contains  biotite  in  place  of  schorl.  Around  these  separate 
centres  of  intrusion  are  areoles  of  metamorphism  in  which  the  Jurassic 
shales  have  been  converted  into  slates  and  phyllites. 

Economically  the  area  traversed  by  the  Expedition  is  devoid  of 
interest.  Barring  a  little  copper  staining  on  a  few  boulders  on  moraines 
no  traces  of  ore  were  seen. 


APPENDIX  IV 

THE  SCIENTIFIC  EQUIPMENT 
By  a.  R.  HINKS,  F.R.S.,  Secretary  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society. 

The  most  important  scientific  work  of  the  first  year's  expedition 
Bhould  have  been  the  study  of  the  physiological  effects  of  high  altitude 
that  Dr.  Kellas  had  undertaken,  with  the  support  of  Professor 
Haldane,  E.R.S.,  and  of  the  Oxygen  Research  Committee  of  the 
Department  of  Scientific  and  Industrial  Research.  In  his  work  on 
Kamet  in  1920,  Dr.  Kellas  had  tried,  and  provisionally  decided  against, 
the  use  of  oxygen  compressed  in  cylinders  :  but  he  laboured  under  the 
grave  disadvantage  that  the  light  cylinders  he  hoped  to  obtain  had 
been,  after  his  departure  for  India,  pronounced  unsafe  ;  and  the 
cylinders  sent  out  were  clearly  too  heavy  for  effective  use  in  climbing. 
Dr.  Kellas  had  therefore  fallen  back  on  the  use  of  oxygen  prepared 
from  the  reaction  between  water  and  oxylith  in  an  apparatus  which 
included  a  kind  of  gas  mask.  He  was  prepared  also  to  make  several 
difficult  researches  into  the  physiological  processes  of  adaptation  to 
low  oxygen  pressure  ;  and  some  delicate  apparatus  was  prepared 
and  sent  out  to  him  by  the  Oxygen  Research  Committee.  Unhappily 
these  interesting  and  important  enquiries  came  to  nought,  for  there 
was  no  one  competent  to  carry  them  on  after  his  lamented  death  at 
Kampa  Dzong  ;  and  the  Expedition  of  1922  was  thereby  deprived 
of  much  information  that  should  have  been  at  its  disposal  in  studying 
the  use  of  oxygen  for  the  grand  assault. 

The  scientific  equipment  for  which  the  Mount  Everest  Committee 
were  directly  responsible  was  not  ambitious  :  the  Survey  of  India 
were  responsible  for  the  whole  of  the  survey  and  brought  their  own 
equipment,  which  is  described  elsewhere  in  this  book.  It  was  necessary 
to  provide  the  climbing  party  only  with  aneroids,  compasses,  reserve 
field-glasses,  thermometers  and  cameras,  with  subsidiary  apparatus 
for  checking  the  aneroids  at  the  base  camps,  and  heavier  cameras 
for  work  at  lower  levels. 

The  aneroids  by  Gary,  Porter  &  Co.  and  by  Short  &  Mason  wer^ 

341 


342  '  MOUNT  EVEREST 

constructed  in  pairs,  to  operate  from  15,000  to  23,000,  and  22,000  to 
30,000  feet  respectively.  They  seem  to  have  performed  well  on  the 
whole, and  tests  made  at  the  National  Physical  Laboratory  since  their 
return  show  that  they  have  changed  very  little  ;  but  it  cannot  be 
said  that  their  performances  were  very  effectively  controlled  in  the 
field,  for  until  late  in  the  season  there  were  no  trigonometrical  heights 
available,  and  the  climbers  had  little  opportunity  in  their  rather 
isolated  circumstances  of  employing  their  aneroids  to  the  best 
advantage,  for  purely  differential  work.  Nor  is  there  much  to  be 
said  as  yet  on  the  value  of  the  shortened  form  of  George  mercurial 
barometer,  to  come  into  action  only  at  15,000  feet  (Gary,  Porter  & 
Co.).  These  instruments  will  find  effective  use  only  in  the  second 
season,  when  the  reference  points  of  the  trigonometrical  survey  will 
be  available  as  fundamental  data. 

The  climbers  carried  "  Magnapole "  compasses  with  luminous 
points,  and  sometimes  a  Mark  VIII  prismatic  ;  these  all  worked 
weU.  The  simpler  compass  is  the  more  convenient  for  use  on  snow 
when  goggles  must  be  worn.  A  luminous  liquid  compass  (Short  & 
Mason)  was  found  very  useful  on  long  reconnaissance  rides. 

For  the  record  of  temperatures  in  camps  Messrs.  Negretti  &  Zambra 
had  made  three  small  pairs  of  maximum  and  minimum  thermometers 
in  leather  travelling  cases.  These  suffered  some  casualties,  by  theft, 
or  being  accidentally  left  out  in  the  sun  ;  and  the  pattern  has  been 
repeated  for  the  second  year's  work. 

The  heavier  photographic  equipment  included  an  old  and  weU- 
seasoned  7|  x  5  Hare  Camera,  lent  to  the  Expedition,  but  newly 
fitted  by  Messrs.  Dallmeyer  with  a  Stigmatic  lens  of  9  inches  focal 
length,  a  negative  telephoto  lens  of  4  inches  focal  length  giving 
enlargement  up  to  6  times,  and  a  set  of  Wratten  filters.  With  this 
camera  Mr.  WoUaston  secured  some  of  the  finest  pictures  taken  on  the 
Expedition. 

There  were  also  two  quarter-plate  cameras  for  glass  plates  :  a 
Sinclair  Una  camera  fitted  by  Messrs.  Dallmeyer  with  a  Stigmatic 
lens  of  5-3  inches  focal  length,  and  Adon  telephoto  lens  ;  and  a  second 
Sinclair  camera  lent  by'Captain  Noel. 

One  or  the  other  of  these  two  was  used  by  Mr.  Mallory  at  many 
of  the  high  camps,  and  both  the  Hare  7^  X  5  and  the  Sinclair  quarter- 
plate  went  to  the  22,500-foot  camp  at  the  Lhakpa  La  :  doubtless 
the  greatest  height  yet  attained  by  so  large  a  camera  as  the  former. 
The  principal  difficulty  with  these  cameras  was  unsteadiness  in  a 
heavy  wind  when  the  telephoto  lens  was  in  use  :    and  the  tripods 


THE   SCIENTIFIC   EQUIPMENT  343 

have  been  strengthened  and  the  lens  supports  stiffened  before  they 
go  out  again. 

The  plates  were  of  two  kinds  :  Imperial  Special  Rapid  and  Fine 
Grain  slow.  The  latter  were  generally  preferred,  and  could  hardly 
have  been  better.  The  Imperial  Dry  Plate  Company,  who  generously 
made  and  presented  these  plates  to  the  Expedition,  deserve  special 
thanks  for  their  skill  and  foi  their  generosity. 

The  cameras  which  used  films  were  a  Panoram  Kodak  of  5  inches 
focal  length,  with  films  12  x  4  inches  ;  a  No.  1  Autograph  Kodak, 
and  two  Vest  Pocket  Kodaks,  all  three  fitted  with  Cooke  lenses  by 
Messrs.  Taylor,  Taylor  &  Hobson.  The  Panoram  Kodak  was  used 
very  successfully  by  Colonel  Howard-Bury,  and  the  splendid  series  of 
panoramas  is  the  most  useful,  if  not  quite  the  most  beautiful,  set  of 
photographs  brought  home.  The  smaller  cameras  were  used  by  the 
climbing  party  with  many  good  results. 

Finally  it  must  be  said  that  a  large  part  of  the  best  photographs 
were  taken  by  Colonel  Howard-Bury  with  his  own  7x5  Kodak, 
and  the  results  very  generously  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  Committee. 

All  the  instruments  were  examined  and  tested  at  the  National 
Physical  Laboratory,  an^  the  thanks  of  the  Committee  are  due  to 
the  Director  and  his  staff,  who  gave  most  valuable  advice  and 
assistance. 


APPENDIX   V 

MAMMALS,   BIRDS  AND  PLANTS  COLLECTED  BY  THE 

EXPEDITION 

By  a.  F.  R.  WOLLASTON 

A.— LIST   OF  MAMMALS  COLLECTED 

Stoat.     Mustela  temon 

Stoat.     Mustela  longstaffi, 

Marmot.     Marmota  himalayana 

Hamster.     Cricetulus  alticola  tibetanus,  subsp.  n. 

Vole.     Phaiomys  leucurus 

Vole.     Phaiomys  everesti 

Vole.     Microtus  {Alticola),  sp, 

Pika,     Ochotona  roylei  nepalensis 

Pika.     Ochotona  wollastoni,  sp.  n. 

Pika.     Ochotona  curzonice 

B.— LIST  OF  BIRDS  COLLECTED 

Central  Asian  blackbird.     Turdus  maxima 

Solitary  thrush.     Monticola  solitarius 

White-breasted  Asiatic  dipper.     Cinclus  cashmirensis 

Indian  stone -chat.     Saxicola  torquata  indica 

Gould's  desert  chat.     Saxicola  montana 

Bush  chat.     Pratincola  prjevalskii 

Indian  redstart.     Ruticilla  rufiventris 

Guldenstadt's  Afghan  redstart.     Ruticilla  grandia 

White-capped  redstart.     Chimarrhornis  leucocephalus 

Hodgson's  grandala.     Grandala  ccelicolor 

TickeU's  wUlow-warbler.     Phylloscopus  affinis 

Mandelli's  willow- warbler.     Phylloscopus  mandellii 

Smoky  willow- warbler.     Phylloscopus  fulviventris 

Spotted  bush- warbler.     Lusciniola  thoracica 

Prince  Henry's  laughing  thrush.     Trochalopterum  henrici 

344 


MAMMALS,   BIRDS  AND   PLANTS  345 

Eastern  alpine  accentor.     Accentor  rufiliatus 

Red-breasted  accentor.     Accentor  rubeculoides 

Rufous-breasted  accentor.     Accentor  strophiatus 

Brown  accentor.     Accentor  fulvescens 

Sikkim  black  tit.     Parus  heavani 

Wren.     Troglodytes,  sp. 

Hodgson's  pied  wagtail.     Motacilla  hodgsoni 

White -faced  wagtail.     Motacilla  leucopsia 

Yellow-headed  wagtail.     Motacilla  citreola. 

Blyth's  pipit.     Anthus  citreola 

Indian  tree-pipit.     Anthus  maculatus 

Hodgson's  pipit.     Anthus  rosaceus 

Grey-backed  shrike.     Lanius  tephronotus 

Slaty -blue  flycatcher.     Gyornis  leucomelanurus 

Himalayan  greenfinch.     Hypacanthis  spinoides 

Tree-sparrow.    Passer  montanus 

Cinnamon  tree -sparrow.     Passer  cinnamomeus 

Blanford's  snow-finch.     Montifringilla  hlanfordi 

Adams'  snow-finch.     Montifringilla  adamsi. 

Hodgson's  ground-finch.     Fringilauda  nemoricola 

Brandt's  ground-linnet.     Leucosticte  brandti. 

Walton's  twite.     Linota  rufostrigata 

Red-breasted  rose-finch.     Pyrrhospiza  punicea 

Scarlet  rose-finch.     Carpodacus  erythrinus 

Hodgson's  rose-finch.     Carpodacus  pulcherrimus 

Severtzofi's  rose-finch.     Carpodacus  severtzoi 

Prejewalk's  rose-finch.     Carpodacus  ruhicilloides 

Red-headed  bullfinch.     Pyrrhula  erythrocephala 

Godlevski's  meadow  bunting.     Emberiza  godlevskii 

Elwes'  shore -lark.     Otocorys  elwesi 

Long-billed  calandra  lark.     Melanocorpha  maxima 

Tibetan  skylark.     Alauda  inopinata 

Short-toed  lark.     Calandrella  brachydactyla 

Brook's  short-toed  lark.     Calandrella  acutirostris  iibitana 

Chough.     Pyrrhocorax  graculus 

Brown  ground-chough.     Podoces  humilia 

Common  hoopoe.     Upupa  epops 

Pied  crested  cuckoo.     Coccystes  jacobinus 

Eastern  Uttle  owl.     Athene  bactriana 

White-backed  dove.     Columba  leuconota 

Snow  partridge.     Lerwa  lerwa 


346 


MOUNT   EVEREST 


Temminck's  stint.     Tringa  temmincki 
Redshank.     Totanus  calidris 
Dusky  redshank.     Totanus  fuscus 
Greater  sand  plover.     Acegialitis  mongola 
Common  tern.     Sterna  fiuviatilis 


In  addition  to  the  above 
specimens  of  them  were  not 

Wall-creeper 
House  martin 
Sand  martin 
Rock  martin 
Alpine  chough 
Magpie 
Black  crow 
Raven 
Swift 

Siberian  swift 
Cuckoo 

Himalayan  vulture 
Lammergeier 
Sea  eagle 
Pallas'  sea  eagle 
Black-eared  kite 
Barheaded  goose 


the  following  birds  were  identified,  but 
obtained  : — 

Ruddy  sheldrake 

Garganey 

Wigeon 

Pochard 

Gadwall 

Hill  rock-dove 

Chinese  turtle  dove 

Tibetan  partridge 

Tibetan  snow  partridge 

Blood  pheasant 

Black-necked  crane 

White  stork 

Ibis-biU 

Painted  snipe 

Pin-tailed  snipe 

Brown-headed  gull 


C— LIST  OF  PLANTS  COLLECTED  BETWEEN  JUNE  AND 
SEPTEMBER,  1921,  12,000-20,400  ft. 


Clematis  orientalis,  L. 
Ranunculus     pulchellus,     C.     A. 

Mey.,  var.  sericeus,  Hk.  f.  &  T. 
Ranunculus    pulchellus,     C.     A. 

Mey. 
Anemone  obtusiloba,  Don 
Anemone  polyanthes,  Don 
Anemone  rivularis,  Ham. 
Geranium  Grevilleanum,  Wall. 
Caltha  scaposa,  Hk.  f.  &  T. 
Delphinium  Brunonianum,  Royle 
Aconitum  gymnandrum,  ]\Iax. 


Aconitum  orochryseum,  Stapf,  sp. 

nov. 
Delphinium  Pylzowii,  Maxim. 
Halenia  eUiptica,  Don 
Delphinium  grandiflorum,  L. 
Hypecoum   leptocarpum,    Hk.   f. 

&  T. 
Meconopsis  horridula,  Hk.  f.  &  T. 
Meconopsis  grandis,  Prain  ? 
Meconopsis,  sp. 
Corydalis,  sp. 
Corydalis  juncea.  Wall. 


MAMMALS,   BIRDS  AND  PLANTS 


347 


Corydalis  Moorcroftiana,  Wall. 
Arabis  tibetica,  Hk.  f.  &  T. 
Lepidium  ruderale,  L. 
Arenaria  ciliolata,  Edgew. 
Dilophia  salsa,  Hk.  f.  &  T. 
Cardamine  macrophylla,  Willd. 
Arenaria  Stracheyi,  Edgew. 
Silene  Waltoni,  F.  N.  Williams 
Silene  Moorcroftiana,  WaU. 
Arenaria  musciformis,  Wall. 
Arenaria  melandrioides,  Edgew. 
Polygonum  islandicum,  Hk.  f. 
Geranium  collinum,  A.  DC. 
Impatiens  sulcatus.  Wall. 
Thermopsis  barbata,  Royle 
Thermopsis  lanceolata,  R.  Br. 
Sophora  Moorcroftiana,  Benth. 
Stracheya  tibetica,  Benth. 
Astragalus  strictus,  Grab. 
Oxytropis  microphylla,  DC 
Gueldenstsedtia  uniflora,  Benth. 
Desmodium  nutans,  WaU. 
Potentilla  coriandrifolia,  Hk.  f. 
Potentilla  multifida,  L. 
Potentilla  sericea,  L. 
Potentilla  microphylla,  Don 
Potentilla  peduncularis,  Don 
Potentilla  Griffithii,  Hk.  f. 
Spiraea  arcuata,  Hk.  f. 
Saxifraga  Lychnitis,  Hk.  f.  &  T. 
Saxifraga  nutans,  Hk.  f.  &  T. 
Saxifraga  aristulata,  Hk.  f. 
Saxifraga  near  S.  saginoides,  Hk. 

f.  &  T. 
Saxifraga  flagellaris,  Willd. 
Saxifraga  Hirculus,  L. 
Saxifraga  Lychnitis,  Hk.  f.  &  T. 
Saxifraga  fimbriata,  Wall. 
Saxifraga  pilifera,  Hk.  f.  &  T. 
Saxifraga  Caveana,  W.  W.  Sm. 
Saxifraga  microphylla,  Royle 


Saxifraga  pallida,  WaU. 
Saxifraga  umbeUulata,   Hk.  f.  & 

T. 
Parnassia  ovata,  Ledeb. 
Parnassia  pusiUa,  WaU. 
Eutrema  Prewalskii,  Hk.  f.  &  T. 
Sedum  fastigiatum,  Hk.  f.  &  T. 
Sedum  trifidum,  Wall. 
Sedum  crenulatum,  Hk.  f.  &  T. 
Sedum  himalense,  Don 
EpUobium  palustre,  L. 
EpUobium  reticulatum,  C.  B.  CI. 
Pleurospermum  Hookeri,  C.  B.  CI. 
Scabiosa  Hookeri,  C.  B.  CI. 
Valeriana  Hardwickii,  WaU. 
Aster,  sp. 

Aster  heterochsetus,  C.  B.  CI. 
AUardia  glabra.  Dene. 
Aster  tibeticus,  Hk.  f. 
Cremanthodium  Decaisnei,  C.  B. 

CI. 
Aster  diplostephioides,  C.  B.  CI. 
Erigeron,  sp. 
Leontopodium  fimbriUigerum,  J. 

R.  Drum.  ? 
Leontopodium       monocephalum, 

Edgew. 
Leontopodium  Stracheyi,  C.  B.  CI. 
Anaphalis  xylorhiza,  Sch.  Bip. 
Anaphalis  cuneifolia.  Hook.  f. 
Tana^cetum  tibeticum,  Hk.  f .  &  T. 
Senecio    arnicoides,     WaU.    var. 

frigida,  Hk.  f. 
Cremanthodium        pinnatifidum, 

Benth. 
Chrysanthemum  Atkhisoni,  C.  B. 

CI.  ? 
Artemisia  Moorcroftiana,  WaU. 
Sonchus  sp. 

Senecio  glomerata,  Decne. 
Senecio  (§  Ligularia)  sp. 


348 


MOUNT  EVEREST 


Senecio  chrysanthemoides,  DC. 
Tanacetum  khartense,  Dunn,  sp. 

nov. 
Aster  sp. 

Lactuca  macrantha,  C.  B.  CI. 
Senecio  sorocephala,  Hemsl. 
Saussurea  gossypina,  Wall. 
Saussurea  tridactyla,  Sch.  Bip. 
Tanacetum  gossypinum,  Hk.  f.  & 

T. 
Saussurea  wernerioides,  Sch.  Bip. 
Crepis  glomerata,  Hk.  f.  ? 
Saussurea  graminifolia,  Wall. 
Senecio  arnicoides,  Wall. 
Saussurea  uniflora,  Wall. 
Morina  polyphylla,  Wall. 
Saussurea  glandulifera,  Sch.  Bip. 
Lactuca  Dubysea,  C.  B.  CI. 
Lactuca  Lessertiana,  C.  B,  CI. 
Cassiope  fastigiata,  D.  Don 
Daphne  retusa,  Hemsl. 
Rhododendron  lepidotum,  Wall. 
Rhododendron  setosum,  Don 
Rhododendron    near    R.    lepido- 
tum, Wall. 
Rhododendron  campylocarpum, 

Hk.  f. 
Rhododendron      cinnabarinum, 

Hk.  f. 
Rhododendron  lanatum,  Hk.  f. 
Rhododendron  arboreum,  Sm. 
Rhododendron  Thomson!,  Hk.  f. 
Cyananthus  incanus,  Hk.  f .  &  T. 
Glossocomia  tenera,  DC. 
Cyananthus  pedunculatus,  C.  B. 

CI. 
Campanula  modesta,  Hk.  f,  &  T. 
Campanula  colorata.  Wall. 
Campanula  aristata.  Wall. 
Androsace    chamsDJasme,     Hort., 

var.  coronata,  Wall. 


Androsace  villosa,  L.  var,  1 
Androsace  strigillosa,  Franch. 
Primula  minutissima,  Jacq. 
Primula    Buryana,    Balf.    f.    sp. 

nov. 
Primula  Wollastonii,  Balf.  f.  sp, 

nov. 
Primula  pusilla.  Wall. 
Primula  sikkimensis,  Hook,  mi- 
croform 
Primula  capitata,  Hook, 
Primula  capitata,  microform. 
Primula  uniflora,  Kiatt 
Primula  Dickieana,  Watt, 
Primula  obliqua,  W.  W,  Sm. 
Primula  indobella.  Balf.  f. 
Primula  minutissima,  Jacq. 
Primula  glabra,  Klatt 
Primula      Younghusbandii,      sp. 

nov. 
Primula  tibetica,  Watt. 
Primula  denticulata,  Sm. 
Primula  sikkimensis,  Hook. 
Primula  nivalis,  Pallas,  var.  ma- 

crocarpa.  Pax. 
Gentiana  amcena,  C.  B.  CI. 
Gentiana  ornata.  Wall. 
Gentiana  sp.     Probably  new  but 

the   material  is   too   imperfect 

to  decide  this. 
Gentiana  Elwesii,  C.  B.  CI. 
Gentiana  robusta.  King 
Gentiana  micantiformis,  Burkill 
Gentiana  nubigena,  Edgew. 
Gentiana    tubiflora,    Wall.,     var. 

longiflora,  Turrill,  var.  nov. 
Gentiana    stellata,     Turrill,     sp, 

nov. 
Gentiana  tenella.  Fries 
Swertia  cuneata.  Wall. 
Arenaria  Stracheyi,  Edgew. 


MAIVIMALS,   BIRDS  AND  PLANTS 


349 


Swertia  Elingii,  Hk.  f. 
Swertia  Younghusbandii,  Burkill 
Swertia  multicaulis,  D.  Don 
Nardostachys  grandiflora,  DC. 
Trigonotis  rotundifolia,  Benth. 
Eritrichium  densiflorum,  Duthie 
Microula  sikJdmensis,  Hemsl. 
Onosma  Waddellii,  Duthie 
Onosma  Hookeri,  C.  B.  CI. 
Verbascum  Thapsus,  L. 
Lancea  tibetica,  Hk.  f.  &  T. 
Lagotis  crassifolia,  Prain 
Pedicularis  trichoglossa,  Hk.  f. 
Pedicularis  Elwesii,  H!k.  f. 
Pedicularis      megalantha,      Don, 

forma 
Pedicularis  megalantha,  Don,  var. 

pauciflora,  Prain 
Pedicularis  Roylei,  Maxim. 
Pedicularis  siphonantha,  Don 
Pedicularis       cheilanthif  olia, 

Schrank 
Pedicularis  tubiflora,  Fischer 
Pedicularis  integrifolia,  Hk.  f. 
Pedicularis  globifera,  Hk.  f. 
Incarvillea  Younghusbandii, 

Sprague 
Escholtzia  eriostachya,  Benth, 
Nardostachys  latamansi,  DC. 
Dracocephalum  breviflorum,  Tur- 

rill,  sp.  nov. 
Dracocephalum    tanguticum, 

Maxim. 
Dracocephalum       heterophyllum, 

Benth. 
Dracocephalum  speciosum,  Benth. 
Veronica  lanuginosa,  Benth. 
Nepeta  discolor,  Benth. 
Nepeta  Thomsoni,  Benth. 
Atriplex  rosea,  L. 


Polygonum  vaccinifolium,  Wall. 
Polygonum  viviparum,  L. 
Polygonum  tortuosum,  Don 
Polygonum  affine,  Don 
Polygonum  amphibium,  L. 
Stellera  chamaejasme,  L. 
Euphorbia  Stracheyi,  Boiss. 
Orchis  cylindrostachys,  Kranzl, 
Liparis  sp. 

Goodyera  fusca,  Lindl. 
Dendrobium  alpestre,  Royle 
Pleione  Hookeriana,  S.  Moore 
Orchis  Chusna,  Don 
Roscoea  purpurea,  Sm. 
Iris  nepalensis,  Don 
Iris  goniocarpa,  Baker 
Iris  tenuifolia,  Pallas 
Lloydia  tibetica.  Baker 
Lloydia  sp. 

Fritillaria  Hookeri,  Baker 
Fritillaria  near  F.  Stracheyi,  Hk.  f . 
Fritillaria  cirrhosa,  Don 
Allium,  sp. 

Allium  Wallichii,  Kunth 
Allium  Govenianum,  Wall.  ? 
Allium  cyaneum,  Regel 
Larix  Griffithii,  Hk,  f. 
Dryopteris  Linneana,  C,  Chr. 
Dryopteris    Filix-mas,    var.    ser- 

rato-dentata,  C.  Chr. 
Cryptogramma  Brunoniana,  Wall. 
Calophaca  crassicaulis,  Benth. 
Glaux  maritima,  L, 
Androsace  sessiliflora,  Turrill,  sp. 

nov. 
Astragalus    oreotrophes,    W,    W. 

Sm, 
Thamnolia  vermicularis,  Schaer. 
Stcreocaulon  alpinus,  Laur. 
Thelochistes  flavicans.  Norm. 


350  MOUNT  EVEREST 

Note. — ^The  material  of  some  of  the  numbers  was  insufficient  for 
accurate  determination  ;  in  a  few  cases  the  material  necessary  for 
comparison  was  on  loan,  and  in  the  case  of  one  or  two  genera,  such 
as  Aster,  revision  of  the  North  Asian  and  Indian  species  will  have 
to  be  undertaken  before  certain  plants  can  be  definitely  named.  The 
numbers  in  the  list  coming  under  these  categories  are  named  " sp." 

Royal  Botanic  Gardens,  Kew. 

March  7,  1922. 


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MAP  n 

Prelun-inaxy  !Map 

MOUNT     EVEREST 

ted    at    tiie    H  T,    S 
fxo-m  plio-tog'Ta.pliB    aui    aketclLes 
made  \>y  tJie 
EXPEDITION   OF    19EI 


# 


INDEX 


Abdtil  Jalil,  photographic  assistant,  59, 

319 
Abruzzi,  Duke  of  the,  2,  3,  5,  155 
Acchu,  cook,  103,  133,  178 
Acclimatisation  to  high  altitudes,  277, 

308,  341 
Alpine  Ckib,  1,  7,  14-19,  305 
Altitude,  effects  on  human  frame,  5, 

102,  104-5,  137-8,  154r-5,  199,  204, 

206-7,  253-4,  276,  307-8,  315,  341; 

on  breathing,  200,  243-4,  277  ;    on 

tinned  fish,  50 
Ammo-chu,  river,  39,  44,  291 
Aneroids,  341 

Ang  Tenze,  coolie,  113,  149-51,  166 
Ari,  bungalow,  33 
Arun,   river,   89,    104^5;   gorges,    110, 

125,  221,  297,  298  ;    see  Bhong-chu 
Avalanches,  231,  267-9,  308-9 

Bailey,  Major,  31,  314 

Bamtso,  lake,  49 

Bell,  Sir  Charles,  16,  24,  166 

Bhompos,  Buddhist  sect,  39 

Bhong-chu,  river,  64-5,  69-71,  89-90, 

93,  99,  100,  110,  159,  161,  295  ;  upper 

valley,  320,  322  ;   see  Arun 
Bhotias,  24 
Bhotia  ponies,  27 
Bhotia  Kosi,  river,  338 
Birds,  290-303,  312,  344-6 
Brahma  Putra,  river,  61  ;   see  Tsan-po 
Bridges,  69,  93-4, 103, 115, 123,  159-60, 

191 
Bruce,  General,  1,  3,  13,  17,  154,  312 
Buchan,  J.,  19 
Buddhism   and  Buddhists,    25,    67-8, 

173  ;   books,  '41  ;   red  cap  sect,  173  ; 

yellow  cap  sect,  58,  173  ;   regard  for 

animal  hfe,   59,   80,    166,    290  ;    see 

Monasteries,  prayer-wheels 


Bullock,  G.  H.,  19,  26,  52  ;  see  Mallory 
Bullocks,  48,  etc.  ;   see  Transport 
Burrard,  Sir  S.,  10-12 

Carpo-Ri,  mountain,   227  ;    ascended, 

117,229-35,268 
Chamlang,  mountain,  140 
Chandra  Nursery,  32 
Chang  La  (North  Col)  142  ;    first  view 

of,    204  ;     207,    212,    220  ;     way   to, 

233-40,     246-8,     256  ;      camp     on, 

259-60 ;      best     route     to,     273-4, 

311-12,  334-5 
Changtse,  North  peak  of  Everest,  142, 

213,  215,  233-4 
Chelmsford,  Lord,  16 
Chheten  Wangdi,  interpreter,  25,  39, 

69,  91,  95,  112,  162,  179 
Chinese  in  Tibet,  38-9,  71-2,  173  ;  in 

Nepal,  71 
Chitayn,  coolie,  212 
Chobvik,  monastery  and  bridge,  82,  95, 

190,  191,  312,  327 
Chodzong,  village,  86 
Chog  La,  106,  121,  129,  299-300 
Choksum,  village,  324 
Chomiomo,  mountain,  52,  54,  140,  166 
Chomolhari,  mountain,  45,  48,  60,  64, 

167,  263 
Chomolonzo,  mountain,  114,  116,  149- 

51 
Chomolungma     (Mount     Everest     or 

Makalu),  13,  24,  107,  224 
Chomo-Uri  (INIount  Everest),  64 
Chorabsang,  mountain,  77-8;  (  =  Cho 

Rapsang,  331) 
Chortens,  40,  66,  174,  286,  etc. 
Cho  Uyo,  mountain,   73,  76,  78,  101, 

207,  219,  330 
Choyling  monastery,  194 
Chulungphu,  village,  89,  104 


351 


352 


INDEX 


Chumbi  valley,  25,  37-44,  170,  177-8  ; 
village,  38  ;    faiina  and  flora,  291 

Chushar  Nango,  village,  60-61,  131, 
134,  295 

Chuphar,  village  and  monastery,  327 

Chu-tronu,  123 

Collie,  J.  N.,  17-18 

Compasses,  342 

Conway,  Sir  M.,  4,  5 

Coolies,  23-5  ;  behaviour,  47,  146,  156, 
213,  216,  222-3,  etc. ;  as  carriers, 
92-4,  113,  122,  158,  284-6;  see 
Transport ;  in  motmtaineering,  84, 
188,  195,  203-6,  212,  230,  251  f!., 
332 

Crampons,  207-8,  272 

Cups  of  tea,  as  measures  of  distance, 
108 

Curios,  67,  157 

Curzon,  Lord,  1,  19 

Dak,  village,  93 
Dalai  Lama,  the,  16,  173 
Darjeeling,  23-28,  179 
Dasno,  coolie,  234 
Desiccation,  51 
Dochen,  bungalow,  49,  168 
Dokcho,  village,  321 
Donka  monastery,  40-42 
Donkeys,  48,'64,  65,  etc.    See  Transport 
Dorje,  cook,  50 
Dorji  Gompa,  coolie,  202,  256 
Doto  nunnery,  51 
Doya  La,  88,  104,  336 
Dram,  vdllage,  325 
Drophung  monastery,  323 
Dug  pass,  50 
Dvikpa,  cook,  134,  188 
Dunge  pokri,  island,  127 
Dzakar  (or  Zakar)   Chu,    river,   93-5, 
159,  297,  333 

Eaton,  J.  E.  C,  17 

Equipment,  20,  315,  341 

Everest,  Moxint,  1-2,  183  ;  position,  9, 
13  ;  height,  10-12  ;  names,  13,  64, 
225  ;  seen  from  Khamba  Dzong,  54, 
56,  183-4  ;  from  ShUing,  64,  186-88, 
217,  230,  263  ;  from  Rongbuk  Valley, 
192,  263-4  ;  from  Kama  Valley,  116, 
226;    local  ignorance  of,    107,  112, 


116;  structure,  192-4,  203,  215,  310; 
best  season  for  ascent,  153,  248,  270  ; 
difficulties  of,  154,  276,  308  ;  plans 
for,  in  1921,  250-52 

—  —  Committee,   16  ff. 

—  —  Expedition,  origin  of,  14-16 ; 
value  of,  5  ;  objects,  17-18  ;  cost, 
19  ;  equipment,  20,  315,  341  ;  results 
179-80,  310-12,  338,  341.  See 
Survey 

Everest,  Sir  G.,  13 

Farrar,  Captain  J.  P.,  14,  17,  19,  315 
Finch,  Captain  G.,  19,  313,  315 
"  Finger,"  the,  station,  335-6 
Foiirteen  lakes,  valley  of  the,  106,  121  ; 

fauna  and  flora,  299 
Fowkes,  Sergeant,  28 
Freshfield,  D.  W.,  1,  14-16,  18 
Fuel,  80,  105,  171,  211,  237,  247,  273, 

331 

Gadompa,  village  and  bridge,  160-61 

Galinka,  \'illage  and  monastery,  40 

Gandenchofel  monastery,  108,  131 

Gauri  Sankar,  mountain,  288,  326,  331 

Gautsa,  bungalow,  44 

Gelupka  (  =  Yellow  Cap)  sect,  173 

Geshe  Rimpoche,  Lama,  40 

Ghoom,  29 

Glaciers,     ancient     extent     of,     128  ; 

characteristics,      194,      197,      218  ; 

atmosphere,  200,  243,  270 
Gnatong,  village,  35-6,  178 
Gosainthan,  mountain,   64,    101,   284, 

322-3 
Graham,  Dr.,  30-31 
Graphic,  the,  19 

Gujjar  Singh,  surveyor,  319,  323-7 
Gm-khas  in  Tibet,  71,  95,  106 
Guru  Rimpoche,  saint,  173 
Gyachimg  Kang,  movmtain,  207,  219, 

330 
Gyalzen  Kazi,  interpreter,  25,  56,  133, 

137,  163,  177-8,  188,  190,  202,  323 
Gyangka-nangpa,  house,  62,  184 
Gyanka  range  of  moiintains,  184 

Haldane,  J.  S.,  341 

Halung,  village,  86-7,  103,  240  ;  valley, 
339 


INDEX 


353 


Hari  Ram,  explorer,  319,  324 

Harvest  rents,  161,  174 

Hatarana,  steamer,  24 

Hayden,  Sir  H.,  338 

Hermits,  80,  83-4,  99 

Heron,  Dr.  A.  M.,  20,  26  ;  expeditions 
from  Tingri,  74,  77-85,  98,  120,  325  ; 
first  expedition  to  Kharta,  86-95 ; 
162,  164,  179-80  ;  in  Upper  Kharta 
Valley,  253 ;  returns  by  Kama 
Valley,  146-153,  337,  and  Teesta 
Valley,  164,  337  ;  note  on  geological 
results,  338-340 

Himalaya,  7-8,  11,  304  ff.  ;  H.  and 
the  Alps,  194 

Hinks,  A.  R.,  17,  20,  315  ;  notes  on 
scientific  equipment,  341-2 

Holdich,  Sir  T.,  15 

Hopaphema,  landowner,  91-3,  104, 
108,  111-12,  157-8 

Hot  springs.     See  Kambu,  Tsamda 

Howard-Bury,  Colonel  O.K.,  13,  15,  17, 
20,  343 ;  author  of  the  general 
narrative  of  the  expedition,  23-180  ; 
expeditions  from  Tingri,  75-85  ;  first 
expedition  to  Kharta,  86-95; 
expeditions  from  Kharta,  106-111  ; 
visits  Kama  Valley,  112  ff.  ;  ascent 
of  19,500  ft.  ridge,  116;  of  Kama 
Changri,  136-7  ;  of  Lhakpa  La, 
140-145,  257  ff. 

Hue,  abbd,  293 

India  Office,  16 

India,  Government  of,  16,  23 

—  Surveyof,  20,  26-7,  341 

Interpreters,  25,  47  ;  discretion  of,  108 

Isaacs,  Mr.,  39 

"Island,"  the,  209,  213,  219 

Jack,  Colonel  E.  M.,  17,  20,  315 
Jannu,  mountain,  117,  135,  140 
Jelep  La,  36,  37,  178,  290,  291  note 
Jetsun-Nga-Wang-Chhofol,  saint,  109, 

325 
Jongpens,  174-5,  283,  324 
Jonsong,  mountain,  47,  140 

Kabru,  mountain,  26,  47,  168 
Kala-tso,  lake,  51 
Kalimpong,  village,  29-30 


Kama  Valley,  112-119,  146-52,  225-7, 

311,  339  ;  fauna  and  flora,  300-01 
Kama  Changri,  mountain,  114,  136-7 
Kama-chu,  river,  122-4 
Kambu  hot    springs,    40-43  ;     valley, 

291 
Kanchenjunga,  mountain,  9,  46,   117, 

135,  140,  185 
Kanchenjhow,  motintain,  52,  64,  104, 

166 
Kang-chu,  river,  325 
Kangchen  and  -chung  passes,  326 
Kangdoshung  glacier,  115-16 
Kangshung  glacier,  149-51 
Karpo  La,  147 
Karro  Pumri,  moimtain,  326 
Kartse,  mountain,  141 
KeUas,  A.  M.,  14,  IS,  26,  341  ;   illness 

and  death,  46-49,  52-54,  164,  321 
KJiamba  Dzong,  fort  and   village,  13, 

24,  53-57,  96,  164 
Kharkung,  village,  161 
Kharta,  24,  90  ;    first  visit  to,  88-93  ; 

headquarters     of     the     expedition, 

104^5,    110;    survey  of,    323,    327; 

valley  formation,   339  ;    fauna  and 

flora,  299,  301-03 
Khartaphu,  mountain,  330 
lOie  or  Khetam,  village,  50-61 
Kheru,  51 
Khombu  pass,  76,  78-9,  312,  339 

—  vaUey,  150-51 
Kimonanga,  village,  124 
Korabak,  rock,  124 

Kuti  (  =  Nyenyam),  village,  324 
Kyetrak,  village  and  valley,  74-77,  327, 
331 

—  glacier,  70,  77-79,  312  ;   river,  79 
Kyishong,  village,  65,  102 

Lachen,  56,  337 

Lalbir  Singh  Thapa,  surveyor,  319,  322, 

327 
Lamna  La,  81,  327 

Langkor,  village  and  temple,  281,  32.1 
LangmaLa,  112-13,  130,  224 
Langra,  rest-house,  37,  178 
Lapchc,   village  and  monaster}',   287, 

325-6 
Lapcho  Kang,  mountain,    115,  284-5, 

325 


354 


INDEX 


Lashar;  village,  161 

Lebong,  races  at,  27 

Leeches,  34-5,  123-4,  126,  300,  337 

Lhakpa  La  (Windy  Gap),  138,  161, 
273-4;  first  visits  to,  240-249, 
255-6  ;  camp  on,  140-44,  257-8,  261 

Lhasa,  16,  24,  173,  174  ;  road  to,  48-49 

Lhonak  peaks,  52 

Lhotse,  mountain  (S.  peak  of  Everest), 
116,  213 

Lingga,  village,  57,  163-4 

Lingmatang,  plain,  40,  44,  291 

Longstaff,  Dr.  T.  G.,  1,  5,  314 

Liimeh,  village,  93-4,  159 

Lungchen  La,  322 

Lungdo,  vUlage,  110,  125 

Lunghi,  167 

Macdonald,  David  and  family,  31,  38, 
177 

Makalu,  mountain,  104,  116,  118-19, 
137,  186,  225-6,  etc.  ;   glacier,  151 

Mallory,  G.  H.  L.,  19,  26,  313  ;  recon- 
noitres N.  approach  to  Everest,  74, 
181-220  ;  ascends  Ri-Ring  (23,050 
ft.),  205-7,  264  ;  moves  to  Kharta, 
102-106  ;  reconnoitres  E.  approach 
to  Everest,  117,  221-249;  back  to 
Kharta,  130;  ascends  Kama  Changi'i, 
136-7  ;  final  assault  and  ascent  of 
North  Col,  131-145,  250-261  ;  leaves 
Kharta,  153  ;  views  on  weather 
conditions,  262-72  ;  on  the  route  up 
Everest,  273-79 

Mammals,  290-303,  312,  344,  etc. 

Mani  WaUs,  40,  174,  etc. 

Maps  of  Tibet,  62 

"  Marigolds,  Field  of,"  119,  152 

Matsang,  village,  125 

Meade,  C.  F.,  5,  17,  19 

Mendalongkyo,  129 

Mende,  village,  57 

Menkhap-to  and  -me,  villages,  322 

Menlung  pass,  327 

"  Metohkangmi,"  141 

Mila  Respa,  saint,  287 

Monasteries,  99,  113,  173  See  Donka, 
Galinka,  Ganden  Chhofel,  Rongbuk, 
Shekar  Chote,  etc. 

Monsoon,  31,  48,  88,  91,  139,  216,  248, 
262  ff .     See  rainfall 


Morshead,  Major  H.  T.,  20,  25-27,  54, 
65,  75,  96  ;  trip  to  Nyenyam,  97,  108, 
281-9,  323-5;  at  Kharta,  112; 
survey  of  Kharta  Valley,  131-2,  135  ; 
first  ascent  of  Lhakpa  La,  130,  230- 
49  ;  ascends  Kama  Changri,  136-7  ; 
second  ascent  of  Lhakpa  La,  140- 
144,  25a-8  ;  map  by,  312,  338  ; 
account  of  survey  by,  319-28 

Moimtain  sickness,  207,  258,  323.  See 
altitude 

Mountaineering,  2-4,  6-8,  305-6 

Mules,  lent  by  Government,  27-8 ; 
breakdown  of,  33-4 ;  Tibetan,  32-33, 
48,  etc.     See  Transport 

Nangba  ( =  Khombu),  pass,  77,  331 

NarsLng,  mountain,  26 

Nathu  La,  37 

Nawang  Lobsang,  first  Dalai  Lama,  173 

Nepal,  13 

Nepalese  coolies,  25,  122  ;   invasion  of 

Tibet,    71,    73;     traders,    122,    127, 

324  ;    herdsmen,  126 
Nezogu  bridge,  100,  102 
Ngawangyonten,  official,  94 
Nieves  penitentes,  78 
Nila  pass,  61,  184 
Noel,  Major  J.  B.  L.,  14,  314 
Nomads,  51,  171 
North  Col  of  Everest,  212,  215.     See 

Chang  La 
North  cwm  of  Everest,  200,  203-4 
North  peak.     See  Chang- tse 
North-East  Arete,  215,  227,  235,  250- 

51,  259,  274-6,  310 
Norton,  Major  E.  F.,  313 
Nuns  and  nvumeries,  51,  80,  83,  166 
Nyenyam,  73,  97,  108,  283-4,  297,  324 
Nyima  Tendu,  coolie,  113,  149-51,  234 

Oxygen  for  climbers,  154,  277,  307-8, 
315-16,  341 

Padamchen  (  =  Sedongchen),  33 

Padma  Sambhava,  saint,  173 

Pashok,  337 

Pawhunri  mountains,  46,  52,  54,  166 

Pedong,  31-2 

Pekhu  plain,  322 

Peshoke,  bungalow,  29 

Pethang  Ringmo,  116,  138 


INDEX 


355 


Pethangtse,  mountain,  117,  147 
Phari,  fort  and  village,  24,  35,  45-8, 

168  ;  plain,  46,  292 
Phanik,  district,  323,  327 
Phema,  viUage,  38 
Philadelphia  Ledger,  the,  19 
Photography,  68,  72-3,  91, 156,  216-17, 

314,    315,    342-3,    etc.  ;     perils    of, 

74^5  ;   svirveying  by,  320,  329-30 
Phvu'i,  village,  322 
Phuse  La.     See  Pusi  pass 
Pilgrims,  70,  99,  121 
Plants,  290-302,  312,  346-50,  etc. 
Po-chu,  river,  284-5,  297-8,  ;323-4 
Ponglet,  view  from,  188,  218,  263 
Ponies,  27,  34,  48,  87,  101,  etc.     See 

Transport 
Poo,  coolie,  75,  113,  156,  178 
Popti  La,  106,  126-7,  300 
Postal  arrangements,  96-7,  131,  135 
Prayer  wheels,  39-40,  53,  91,  98,  110, 

174,  289 
Primus  stoves,  142-3,    154,    208,   315, 

331 
Pulahari,  village,  281 
Pulme,  94 

Piunori,  mountain,  209 
Pimagang  monastery,  39 
Pusi  pass,  77,  79,  289   ( =^  Phuse  La, 

327,  330) 

Quiok,  pass,  159 

Rabkar-chu,  river  and  glacier,  115 

Ra-chu,  river,  70,  330 

RainfaU,  29,  37,  56,  99,  105,  262  £E. 

Rawling,  Major,  13-14 

Reading,  Lord,  23 

Rebu,  village,  87,  103  ;  valley,  339 

Rhenock,  32 

Ri-Ring,  mountain,  ascendecl,  205-6, 

270,  311 
Richengong,  village,  38,  291 
Ronaldshay,  Lord,  23,  179 
Rongbuk,  glacier,  84  ;   central  and  W. 

branches     explored,     194-220 ;     E. 

branch,  142,  216-18,  238-40,  247-9, 

273-4,    334^6;     stream    from,    199, 

218 

—  monastery,  83 

—  valley,  82,  191,  339 


Rongkong,  village,  63 

Rongli,  biuigalow,  32,  178 

Rongmo,  village,  63 

Rongshar,     valley,     77,     288-U,     298, 

325-6 
Ruddamlamtso,  lake,  121,  128 
Rugby,  Tibetan  boys  at,  172 
Ryder,  Colonel  C.  H.  D.,  13,  319 

Sakeding,  village,  121-52,  127-8 
Samchang,  pass,  106,  121,  129 
Sand  dimes,  58,  63-4,  295 
Sandakphu,  12,  13 
Sanglu,  coolie,  254,  256-7 
Sedongchen,  village,  33-4 
Senehal,  29 
Serpo-La,  164,  337 
ShaoLa,  112,  118,  153 
Sharto,  village,  75,  330 
Shassi  (  =  New  Yatimg),  38 
Shatog,  village,  162 
Shekar-Chote,  monaster}'',  67-8,  94 
Shekar   Dzong,   fort   and   village,    45, 

66-7,  96,  295 
Sherpa  Bhotias,  coolies,  24,  188,  224, 

252 
Shidag,  nunnery,  51 
Shigatse,  51,  55,  174 
Shiling,  161,  188.     See  Everest,  Mount 
Shvuig-chu,  river,  79 
Shurim  Tso,  lake,  114 
Sikkim,  siu-vey  of,  27,  320-21,  327  : 

journey  through,   29-36  ;    flora  of, 

ibid 
Siniolchimi,  moimtain,  46 
Sipri  mountains,  99 
Skis,  158 
Snow,  248,  254,  264-8  ;    temperature 

of,   270;    powdery,    171,   231,   243. 

256  ;   powdery  snow  and  wind,  139, 

142,   144,   159,   167-8,  259-60,  271. 

etc. 
Snow-blindness,  103,  107,  171 
Snowfall,  37,  171 
Snow  line,  56 

Snow  men,  the  abominable,  141 
Snow  shoes,  137,  211-14,  232,  243,  254. 

265,  270 
Somers  Codes,  E.  L.,  16 
Somervell,  H.  T.,  312.  313 
Strutt,  Colonel  E.  L.,313 


356 


INDEX 


Sun's  rays,  270,  308 

Survey  work  of  expedition,  179,  312. 

See  Heron,  Morshead,  Wheeler 
Sutso  plain,  99,  321-22 

Takda,  cantonment,  29 

Tamba  Sanye,  saint,  281,  323 

Tameness  of  animals,  59-60,  76-77,  80, 
83,  88,  94,  131 

Tang  La,  48,  167,  323 

Tang-piin-smn,  plain,  48 

Tangsham,  114,  117,  152     - 

Targyeling,  village,  324 

Tasang,  viUage,  79,  289,  327 

Tashi  Dzom,  95 

Tashilumpo  monastery,  51,  173 

Tashishong,  325 

Tatsang,  nunnery,  52,  165-6 

Teesta  Valley,  27,  29-30,  164,  337 

Temperatiu-e,  269-70,  308,  342 

Tents,  airlessness  of,  143,  154,  258 

Thermometers,  342 

Thrashing,  164 

Thvmg-La,  282  ;  fauna  and  flora,  297 

Tibet,  13,  36,  170  f£.  ;  geology  of,  338  ; 
Government,  173-4  ;  helps  the  ex- 
pedition, 16,  24,  45,  etc. 

Tibetans,  170  ff. 

Tibetan  beer,  57,  125,  156  ;  bread,  125; 
burial,  74,  133  ;  climate,  49,  176  ; 
coinage  and  currency,  47,  59,  123  ; 
coolies,  223-4  ;  houses,  38,  89,  321  ; 
marriage,  74  ;  meals,  48,  59,  62,  67, 
101,  108,  etc.  ;  mules,  177-9  ;  orna- 
ments, 73,  101,  107  ;  ponies,  27,  55, 
101,  176  ;  superstitions,  66,  72,  109, 
122,  141,  174,  282  ;  tea,  41,  etc. 

Times,  newspaper,  19,  156 

Tingri,  70-75,  95-101  ;  plain  of,  70  ; 
its  fauna  and  flora,  96,  295-7  ;  origin 
of  name,  282,  323 

Tinki,  fort  and  village,  58,  162  ;  birds 
of,  294  ;  pass,  60,  162,  321  ;  flowers 
of,  295 

Trangso  Chumbab,  rest-house,  65 

Transport,  27-8,  34-5,  45,  48,  60,  65, 
69,  86,  92,  158-9,  165,  173,  284.     See 
Coolies,  Mules,  Yaks 
Trintang,  village,  326 
Tropde,  village,  326 


Tsakor,  village,  70 

Tsamda,  hot  springs,  99,  321 

Tsampa,  172-3,  222,  337 

Tsang,   province,   319 

Tsang-po,  river,  319-20 

Tsering,  five  peaks,  326 

Tsogo,  65,  159 

Tsomotretung,  lake,  61 

Tsong  Kapa,  monk,  173 

Tulsi  Dass,  gardener,  32 

Tulimg,  village,  323 

Tuna,  rest-house,  48 

Turubaz  Khan,  surveyor,  319,  321 

Wakefield,  Dr.  A.  W.,  313 

Waugh,  Sir  A.,  10,  12,  13 

Weather.  See  Monsoon,  Rainfall, 
Wind 

West  cwm  of  Everest,  208-9,  212,' 214 

Wheeler,  Major,  E.  O.,  20,  26,  52,  164, 
252,  320  ;  expedition  to  Kyetrak, 
74,  77-81,  98,  330-33  ;  to  Rongbuk 
Valley,  102,  333-36  ;  discovers  E. 
Rongbuk  glacier,  217,  240,  247-8, 
334  ;  arrives  at  Kharta,  249  ;  to 
Lhakpa  La,  140-44,  257  ;  to  Chang 
La,  144-5,  258-61  ;  returns  by  Kama 
VaUey,  146-153,  337,  and  Teesta 
Valley,  164,  337  ;  map  by,  312,  328, 
338  ;  accoimt  of  photographic  sur- 
vey by,  329-337 

Wind,  50,  72,  75,  147-8,  171,  178,  265, 
308,  342.     See  Snow 

AVollaston,  A.  F.  R.,  20,  26  ;  returns 
with  Raeburn  to  Sikkim,  56  ;  rejoins 
at  Tingri,  74,  75,  96 ;  trip  to 
Nyenyam,  97,  108,  323-25  ;  de- 
scribed by  him,  281-89  ;  at  Kliarta, 
249;  to  Lhakpa  La,  140  ff.,  257-8; 
returns  by  Kama  Valley,  146-153, 
165,  342  ;  natural  history  notes  by, 
290-303,  344^350  ;    collections,  312 

Yaks,  61,  81,  161,  171,  286,  294,  etc. 
Yaru,  river,  56-7,  61-3,  101-2 
Yatung,  38-9,  177 
Younghusband,  Sir  F.,  1,  15-17,  19,  20 

Zachar-chvi.     See  Dzakar-chu 
Zambu,  viUage,  81 


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